Getting phased out

[jambo101]

Five weeks to go until i retire and it seems the company is starting early on phasing me out.Most of my work has now been reassigned,I;m not being asked to sit in on meetings any more or other company functions,in fact i'm just sitting around doing nothing all night and its kinda depressing,when i tell any one anything they just dont take me seriously and it seems the most used slogan lately is "dont worry Jim you only have a few weeks left to go"
I'm feeling like after giving 30yrs to this company they now cant get rid of me fast enough

[joesxm3]

If I were you I would talk it over with them and finish sooner.

[martyb]

My thoughts exactly!

[jambo101]

On our pension we have a premium called a bridge and it makes up 20% of the pension and if you retire before 60 you lose the bridge so i gotta endure for another 5 weeks.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Corporations don't love you back.

[travelover]

jambo, pretty much the same thing happened to me once it was official that I was retiring. I wouldn't take it personally, just make the best of it.

I started coming in late, taking long lunch hours and leaving early. In the meantime, direct your energy for planning for the future - financial planning & education, hobby interests, vacation planning, reconnecting with friends and family that you may have neglected. You are going to need to move on to the next life anyway - might as well get a good start now.

Good luck.

[fisherman]

I have 22 working days left not that I am counting and Mega Corp has started leaving me out of meetings also. I like it since they were usually boring. It does leave lots of planning time for life after FIRE. I like to earn my pay and will do what ever work given but if they do not ask I am happy to read and plan. I do not take it personally. I also realize that by not giving my opinion I am giving someone else the chance to grow into my position.

Try surfing the net and reading some on areas that interest you if you really do not have any work to do. You can always post here!

[Darryl]

It's a nice testament to your character you still care.

John Maxwells newest book has line something like this, paraphrasing "if you think your company can't get along without you then get a bucket of water place your hand in it. Now remove your hand. Now look at the hole you have left in the water, that is the same size hole you will leave in your organization when you go"

Enjoy the next few weeks they are choosing to underutilize you. They also have the benefit of knowing where to find you if something falls apart and the newbies get confused.

[kumquat]

Thant's how Mega-Corp works. I gave 30 gays notice of RE. Boss begged me to stay 90 days to help select & train successor. He was hired on day 75 and then took 2 weeks holiday. I did very little "since I didn't want to make decisions my successor might not agree with". An extra 2 months pay, no worrys. ENJOY!

[chinaco]

Jambo

Don't take it personal. When people retire or put in a notice to leave, the people left behind set about working to fill the void that will be opened.

When it comes to the others not taking you seriously... I do not know the details of the situation, but I can speculate... it could be that concerns that you voice during the turn-over are falling on deaf ears. If that is the case, perhaps the new owner of the responsibility wants to learn the hard way! In the end, all you can do is try to pass on wise advice. But alas, some people are just destined to attempt short-cuts that lead to problems.

The worst part about being there for the last few weeks is the boredom.

Relax, enjoy, and plot your course for fair winds and sunny skies.

[Maurice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darryl It's a nice testament to your character you still care. John Maxwells newest book has line something like this, paraphrasing "if you think your company can't get along without you then get a bucket of water place your hand in it. Now remove your hand. Now look at the hole you have left in the water, that is the same size hole you will leave in your organization when you go"

DeGaulle's quote was "the graveyards are filled with indispensable men"

[FinallyRetired]

In the military we used to have the ROAD program -- Retired On Active Duty. We used this term for those who were close to retirement and just quit working reduced their output. I never joined the ROAD program, but went through a phase in my last six months in which I wished I had joined. All of my duties were transfered to others, yet I had to stick around for my retirement date. So I made busy work while feeling marginalized. If I had to do it over again, I would have joined the ROAD program and began my virtual retirement a few months earlier. I feel that while your employer is paying you, you owe an honest day's work until the day you retire. But if you have a retirement date, offer your services, and your employer chooses to not use your time and talents, then screw them you have the option to just show up and do nothing.

[donheff]

You sound like you are/were committed to your employer. So you did a good job at transitioning your duties to others as your retirement day approached. It is natural that you will become redundant in the last weeks. The more so, the better you have done. Consider the opposite - someone in a critical position pulls the plug without notice. He is involved in important work up until he last day but he leaves the company with an unplanned gap to fill and, potentially, some dissatisfied customers.

Relax and revel in the fact that you did things right.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maurice DeGaulle's quote was "the graveyards are filled with indispensable men"

That's one to put up on your cubicle wall.

[Puzzley]

I guess you could say I'm "phasing out" as my successor has been hired, and I'm training him now. Been doing it for a month, and have 14 more to go, and I can see that this last year and a bit will, at least in the early stages, be more demanding than the last few. Seems they're gonna get all the juice outta me before I'm gone....

[frayne]

Guess I was much luckier. Told my employer during my annual elvaluation that I was seriously considering retirement and ask them how much notice they needed and they said they would like 60 days. About four months later I gave them my 60 day notice. I got to interview and pick my replacement, help train him, took some vacation here and there, had the customary retirement party and a few dinners and walked out my last day after a 32 year career with a tear in my eye. I have a been ask a number of times about going back for some project or special assignment type work, but after two years of Saturdays, there just ain't no way.

My advice to the original poster is keep your head up, do your job and walk away with your pride and dignity.

[DRiP Guy]

Jambo:

Bear with my story for a moment, because I think I'll have some good advice for you in a minute:

I have been in my industry for 30 years, and am approaching the point where I am going to pack it in. I have an obligation to see through a 'bail out' temporary assignment I took on to help another dept, so it's been good meeting the new leadership team, getting them acquainted, but also odd because I am purposefully distancing myself from future assignments and responsibilities -- something I have never done. I finally took both of the new leaders aside and explained my general intent. I had already (stupidly?) sat with my HR person and told them the same. Both HR and the new management expressed surprise and I think some disbelief that I am really going to just up and leave -- HR wanted me to 'come talk for a follow-up in a couple of months'.

The perfect random situation would be if we were bought up by some yet-to-be known of company, and they put me on the list to get RIF'ed, but I don't think that is going to happen, and I sure don't intend to wait for it -- I never want to get to what one of the former mil guys called ROAD -- I hated seeing those useless guys taking up space when I was in the military. So my point is that mentally, I am already planning to be gone, but attitudinally, I don't hate my old job, or even my current assignment, or the new team, or anything. I'd like to add value while I remain, but I do not want anyone to give me something I will need to leave as unfinished business or leave anyone in the lurch.

So, at long last, here is my advice for you -- even though we are getting different pressures (mine think I am 'bluffing', your treat you like you are already gone) I think our approach needs to be the same:

Take the weeks you have to get out of the office, and do some "Management By Walking Around" and some networking, that you may (if you are like me) wish you had always had more time for. You can help those in the trenches by listening, and you can help those that will remain by using your (I assume) former heft and gravitas to freely speak your mind on any observations /issues you see. In the last couple of weeks, I have felt that I am seeing clearer, and advising more plainly than I ever have. So far from being ROAD, I feel I am the opposite -- getting a 10,000 ft view, and able to translate that (with my past experience) into some bullet 'watch for this, check on that') type advice for the new crew, with the admonition that they need to assess for themselves, too. Oddly, we have been an organization in crisis, and I think the turn is going to come, and that is good, but I do not have the heart to stay with it. That is what is freaking out HR -- much of what I thought needed to go or be done is in the works, and much of what used to bug me is getting at least noticed if not addressed... but I just don't see myself being a part of the next era.

So take your days, be the elder statesman, make the rounds of colleagues, slap some shoulders, freshen up your contacts in your Rolodex for Christmas cards and such, and let it go. Don't insist on being in the thick of things and decisions, float above it and at best give some general advice and thoughts if you are asked.

Good luck!

[RunningBum]

Sounds like they want to find out how they can get along without you while they still have the safety net of you being there just in case.

If you're bored and still want to contribute, maybe you can take some time to write up and report and some suggestions and observations. You might want to give it to them on your last day though, so that if it's tossed aside, you won't be more frustrated.

[toofrugalformycat]

I worked like an idiot, especially my last few weeks at the office. I thought I was indispensable. Now, seven years later, that is one of my few regrets about how I left that place, all that extra time and effort I spent trying to leave things "perfect", and 600 hours of sick leave accumulated that just went away when I left.
No one is indispensable and nothing is perfect. Don't take it personally.

[jambo101]

Thanks for cheering me up.As for my duties at the plant they are just giving it all to the guy on the day shift and cutting my job completely, the guy on the day shift is not happy