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Old 09-27-2016, 08:24 AM   #141
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I once worked for a small scientific instrument company and grew to loathe the managing director for all his bluster. I now understand that he was under a lot of sales pressure from the venture capital owners so I'm a bit more sympathetic to him. Still I left the company because I was offered a job at NASA. In the leaving interview he asked "Why are you leaving?", my reply was "Given a choice between fish sticks and lobster, what would you choose?"

Bridges burned..............FYI the NASA job was probably the most satisfying work I've ever done.
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Old 09-27-2016, 08:49 AM   #142
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I don't see myself sitting by the pool and reading books in retirement.
Don't worry; there are plenty of us willing to do that for you.

Leave a towel on your chair to reserve your spot.
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Old 09-27-2016, 09:09 AM   #143
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Don't worry; there are plenty of us willing to do that for you.

Leave a towel on your chair to reserve your spot.
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Old 09-27-2016, 10:03 AM   #144
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At Board of Supervisors waiting for closed meeting to end b4 recognition for a hobby job I do ... I'm not telling anyone off. It's not that important. Following the suggestion to:
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Take the lay-off. Decide over Nov. and Dec. If you are sure you are done for good, let them know shortly before the new year. You get the best of both this way.
FWIW:
1 told to take off until February last week
1 had hours cut to 16 wk
I was called off Monday told to take tomorrow off too so it's become a moot point. Thanks for talking me back from the edge.

I couldn't be the first person who retired from a layoff
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Old 09-28-2016, 06:21 AM   #145
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I couldn't be the first person who retired from a layoff
No, not at all. The layoff I took at Motorola had a number of people who did this. They weren't planning to retire, it was kinda forced on them.

But the flip-side is better -- wait for a layoff and then piggyback your retirement onto the layoff. Best of both worlds. You effectuate your plan to retire, plus get a severance package. All ya gotta do is hang in there until the layoff comes.
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Old 09-28-2016, 06:45 AM   #146
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..."Given a choice between fish sticks and lobster, what would you choose?" ...
Love it... I'll have to try to remember that one.
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Old 09-28-2016, 06:57 AM   #147
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As I think over the answers to the OP's question, the best answer is another question: What do you believe it will accomplish? If all you want to do is vent, don't do it. If you're talking to the people who created and tolerate the toxic work environment, clearly they know and don't care. Nothing you say is likely to change that. If there are people who are in a position to change things that are definitely wrong (regulators, members of the Board of Directors, some HR types), you may have a case for being honest.
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Old 09-28-2016, 07:11 AM   #148
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But the flip-side is better -- wait for a layoff and then piggyback your retirement onto the layoff. Best of both worlds. You effectuate your plan to retire, plus get a severance package. All ya gotta do is hang in there until the layoff comes.
That's what I did. Layoff morning was priceless. Managers all had long faces, apologizing that they had to let us go, and my grin was so wide I thought my face would crack open. Not sure they really got it, but I was ecstatic. I had already cleaned my desk out a few days earlier in preparation for it, even though it was supposed to be a sudden surprise (yeah, right!) to the staff.
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Old 09-28-2016, 08:57 AM   #149
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Mine was more challenging. I was thrilled to get the chop. I anticipated it and even had done research as to which lawyer to engage.

Once it actually happened I was thrilled but I had to contain my pleasure until such time as a settlement was reached. People in my area were full of condolences. Peers were offering contacts for other employment opportunities.

I won the lottery. I ended up with a full DB pension at age 62, 23 months of severance pay, followed by 38 weeks of EI. It was the icing on the cake for our FIRE. Walked out, never looked back. Why work when there are so many interesting places in the world to explore?


I was in senior management. We knew exactly how challenging things had become (at a multinational). So did the exec that I reported to. The employee survey results were abysmal. So why bother to unload and spout off? It would not be to the company's benefit as they already knew. Take the money, run, and do not burn any bridges. Loose lips sink ships as they say.
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Old 09-29-2016, 12:34 PM   #150
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I worked as a rented employee of a contract company, a contractor. All day long client was calling contractors & employees into small conference room for 1 on 1 discussions. I had seen this many times before so I knew what was coming. When my turn came I simply asked when was my last day was (60 days hence) and I had no hard feeling for a great 9 yr run. Unlike the other meeting during the day, mine took 5 minutes. Afterwards I heard, from a couple employees, of a BoA refi with a 1% lower rate than I currently had and a free unemployment rider which paid the mortgage, up to 12 months, if you got unemployed. So I applied. About 57 days later the loan closed. 3 days later I and several other contractors were walked out the door.

I think you know what's coming. 99+ weeks of unemployment and 12 months of paid for mortgage payments.

I retired after the unemployment ran out.
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Old 09-29-2016, 12:38 PM   #151
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Unemployment is now only 26 weeks but is that the 'severance' the others refer to? Don't I have to be looking for work to get unemployment? I mean I'll be looking probably October (under employed) into November (newly unemployed) but if I become comfortable with that, wouldn't I stop getting it?
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Old 09-29-2016, 01:07 PM   #152
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No, not at all. The layoff I took at Motorola had a number of people who did this. They weren't planning to retire, it was kinda forced on them.

But the flip-side is better -- wait for a layoff and then piggyback your retirement onto the layoff. Best of both worlds. You effectuate your plan to retire, plus get a severance package. All ya gotta do is hang in there until the layoff comes.
Unfortunately, that doesn't work for all of us. I worked for Mot for decades in their cable division... (Started as General Instrument, then acquired by Mot, then spun off to Mot Mobility, then sold off to Arris... with some google ownership in there briefly).

Lots of layoffs... unfortunately - never happened for me and very light layoffs in my group. I got tired of waiting... I'd been letting my bosses know for years to put my name at the top of the list. Dang it. They finally had a layoff in my old group about 6 months ago... but I'd already been retired for 2 years... LOL.
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Old 09-29-2016, 01:08 PM   #153
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In this day and age who knows, I don't see how they could sue you or do anything to you unless you wrote something up publicly as you wouldnt' be able to prove it. However, there is always glassdoor which lots of people vent on and you can hide your identity and it forewarns others that would apply to this place..if your looking to help out others.

Of course I told them everything when I left.. I was open and honest with HR because what they were doing was unethical. The week after I left several people were fired but that also included the HR person I spoke to...so I have often assumed they were cleaning up a mess and wanted to one to ask any further questions. It did make things easier for those I left behind so I'm glad I did it.
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Old 09-29-2016, 01:25 PM   #154
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Unemployment is now only 26 weeks but is that the 'severance' the others refer to? Don't I have to be looking for work to get unemployment? I mean I'll be looking probably October (under employed) into November (newly unemployed) but if I become comfortable with that, wouldn't I stop getting it?
Two different things. "Severance", to me, means money your employer pays directly to you as a sort of reparation for dumping you out on the tarmac. If you start a new job the next day you still get to keep it. Unemployment compensation is paid by the state (funded by premiums paid by employers) and IS dependent on your still being unemployed and actively looking for work. Not sure if you can collect both; the one time I got severance it was 6 months in a lump sum and I may have been able to collect Unemployment because it wasn't ongoing payments. I had another job in 6 weeks, though, so didn't even try.
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Old 09-29-2016, 01:31 PM   #155
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I don't think anybody cares what I say as I walk out the door. I have gotten my ear bent by the guy who's now off until February as well as the guy who is now off until January. I'm the only one other than the owners still there and I'm really not. I could say something and it would just roll right off their backs because it really isn't that relative. That's one thing that we have to be aware of when you work for a small company or perhaps anywhere in Private Industry
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Old 09-29-2016, 02:29 PM   #156
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Unemployment is now only 26 weeks but is that the 'severance' the others refer to? Don't I have to be looking for work to get unemployment?
It's been a while for me and each state has it's own rules on this, but there is "looking" for work and then there is "seriously looking" for work. A couple of times they wanted to see proof that I was looking but a printout of a search result with "no results found" on a job site would suffice. And it didn't have to be any job, you could hold out for a job related to what you used to do.

A scary moment for me was when I accidentally found a job position I was qualified for! But since it required being on call 24/7 and working nights occasionally I was most definitely not applying there! So I used some different search terms and printed out that page instead.
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Old 09-29-2016, 03:07 PM   #157
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ERD50 has it right.
It's a job, not a marriage. It's a business relationship, period. No reason to get all emotional about it.

One of my co-workers explained this to me in my early years at the company. Then he gave me his motto in full detail, "I f*king love Motorola. And Motorola loves f*king me." (Notice none of that "megacorp" BS, I name names.)


E
HA as a 20 year employee of said mega corp.. I do so understand...but then again 20 years ago it was family owned and felt like it and now its 1/10th the size and run as a megacorp that it no longer is.

btw, the 23 week unemployment that was mentioned in this thread is not valid in all states.. having moved to North Carolina I found out they only provide 13 weeks and we are not the lowest with Florida running at 12 and there are several states trying to lower the bar even further...ie whats the point of unemployment when it only covers 12 weeks and only pays $300/week.. sorry not sure a max (for a single person) of $3600 is really a safety net.
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Old 09-30-2016, 06:58 AM   #158
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In this day and age who knows, I don't see how they could sue you or do anything to you unless you wrote something up publicly as you wouldn't be able to prove it. However, there is always glassdoor which lots of people vent on and you can hide your identity and it forewarns others that would apply to this place..if you're looking to help out others.
When I left I signed a paper saying that in return for being paid through the end of the next month and getting $1,500 to assist with COBRA, I wouldn't say anything negative about the company, including anonymous reviews! The company is a puzzle: there are people who work there for decades and wouldn't work anywhere else, and there are people like me who just didn't fit into the culture and politics and were very short-termers. So, it would be hard to write a glassdoor review that would help someone to sort out whether they might have a chance there.

It's been 2.5 years since I left and I'm pretty open with people one-on-one when they ask me about my experiences. If someone asks about getting into the place through my connections, I tell them my picture is probably still posted in the reception area. Weasel boss actually had the stuff I signed include an acknowledgement that I was not eligible for rehire, which I thought was reserved only for people who embezzled company funds or sexually harrassed employees.
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