......but I don't work here anymore.

[CO-guy]

I'm rolling up on a year since leaving the dumpster fire of my (former) full-time job. After leaving, I agreed to assist with a few projects on a part-time basis this year. While it's no surprise that they now need more help, rather than asking for assistance, I received an email this week essentially ordering me back to work. I thought about how to respond and ultimately settled on the following response this morning:

"Thanks for reaching out and I fully understand the needs of the organization, but I don't work here anymore."

Hopefully this direct approach will clarify my role within the organization.

 

[GrayHare]

sounds like a "name your price" situation

 

[braumeister]

Talk about tone-deaf!

Reminds me of something that happened a few years ago. A nonprofit I have donated to a number of times in the past got a new outfit to send out solicitations for new donations.

But apparently they didn't understand the issue, because they mailed me a paper marked INVOICE in large letters, and the amount was for the largest single donation I had ever previously made there.
"Avoid late fees by mailing your payment immediately."

You can guess where that paper went.

 

[Dtail]

I still get calls/emails for jobs, while they acknowledge that I am retired.

 

[statsman]

That was the one good part about the megacorp that laid me off, along with many others they had done the same to in the 4-5 years prior and 1-2 years after me. The company was going scorched-earth on employees who had 25+ years service, which was soon followed by the more recently hired. All in an event to shut down operations in California and move projects and various business sections to other states. There was little effort a few months after my layoff for previous co-workers to ping me for information, which was fine with me because of how I was terminated.

 

[Route246]

It is a difficult thing for me to turn someone's request for my services down, regardless of how things ended. I'm always open to talk. My previous manager who "fired" me (actually it was a 1.5 year separation package consisting of salary, benefits and RSU vesting) all granted and lump sum paid the first week of January (to push the taxes out to the next year) called me about a year ago and asked me if I wanted my old role back and that the previous regime that "got rid of me" is gone and were fired and kicked out the door. Of course I felt no sympathy for them, nor do I have any animosity towards the company but I told him I was quite happy in my current role and I'm trying to plan my retirement and separation now. But, we agreed to have lunch and talk about it. He told me he is struggling to find anyone who right the ship, so to speak, and that they can't find anyone to get it right. I do have some special skills and knowledge that allow me to handle this role and those skills are no longer in demand in general as everything moves to modern technologies and methods. I'm not that much of a dinosaur because I also possess those modern skills which I continuously hone out of paranoia of becoming obsolete.

That being said, before he could ask me what my current package was I told him politely that I'm not really interested in upending my current role to go back to my old role. I have friends who asked me why I'm giving them the time of day and I could only surmise my reason to be professional courtesy. Obviously, the upper management had given him authorization to make an offer so things could have gotten serious. I never brought up the old regime who made his life miserable but he told me tidbits of what had happened since I left 7+ years ago.

The moral of this story for me is I maintained my professionalism and I'm happy I was able to do this, even though there is a part of me who could have spoken an earful to make myself feel better. I did leave a dumpster fire (at least my group was) but I landed well in my next role so things turned out OK.

I'm rolling up on a year since leaving the dumpster fire of my (former) full-time job. After leaving, I agreed to assist with a few projects on a part-time basis this year. While it's no surprise that they now need more help, rather than asking for assistance, I received an email this week essentially ordering me back to work. I thought about how to respond and ultimately settled on the following response this morning:

"Thanks for reaching out and I fully understand the needs of the organization, but I don't work here anymore."

Hopefully this direct approach will clarify my role within the organization.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Johnny Paycheck had the best answer to situations like this.

 

[Aerides]

After leaving, I agreed to assist with a few projects on a part-time basis this year.

that was your first mistake.

Now you get to decide, do I want to go out in a blaze of glory and burn the bridge?

(after a year, I would imagine/hope, your answer is different than on day 1)

"Thanks for reaching out and I fully understand the needs of the organization, but I don't work there anymore."

Here - you still belong.
There - that place I used to work
I'd probably forgo the Thanks part. More, "in response to your query..."

 

[MC Rider]

Order, who does he think he is? King?

That would be the end of any part time for them.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I met old boss on the street a year or so after FIRE. He asked me if I were interested in coming back to work and asked if I were bored yet. Involuntarily, I busted out laughing. Rude, I know, but I couldn’t help it.

 

[CardsFan]

I met old boss on the street a year or so after FIRE. He asked me if I were interested in coming back to work and asked if I were bored yet. Involuntarily, I busted out laughing. Rude, I know, but I couldn’t help it.

And that is the perfect response

 

[jimbee]

Johnny Paycheck had the best answer to situations like this.

This is the answer.

 

[CardsFan]

sounds like a "name your price" situation

I am pretty sure $10,000/hr would not be welcomed well

 

[CO-guy]

sounds like a "name your price" situation

To me it sounded like a, "full-time or nothing" offer for next year. They seem to have forgotten that being half-time this year was my effort to politely back away from the dumpster fire rather than turn and run.

My current half-time contract technically ends in 5 weeks, but I've already wrapped up my deliverables for the contract. Hence the, "I don't work here," rather than "I don't work there."

A year ago I would have been way more irked by the 'threat'(?), and I thought I wouldn't tire of my front row seat to the dumpster fire, but at this point I'm indifferent

Actually, that's not true. I see opportunity, because my consulting rate has gone up, substantially.

 

[DrRoy]

Hit send.

 

[punkinhead]

One of the reasons I retired was because I was tired of the pressure from ridiculous deadlines. I was a machine design engineer and we nearly always shipped machines incomplete and finished them in the field so that a manager could claim with a straight face that we'd met our shipping deadline. Other than a few simple questions from coworkers, I wasn't contacted by my employer after retirement. Then almost exactly a year later my old boss called when my wife and I were a few days into a 2 month camping trip. They had overpromised and understaffed to build, write all the control software, debug, ship, and install a very large assembly line. He wanted me to come in under contract to help bail them out. I turned it down because we were on a trip but later got to wondering what my stress level would have been if I'd have taken the job at 2x-3x my old pay. Maybe I would have felt all the same old stress level due to my competitive nature and work ethic or maybe I'd have just put in 8 hours days without a care in the world whether we hit the deadline or not. At this point I'll never know because I have absolutely no desire to ever work again.

 

[sengsational]

^ My last job was in the "you need me more than I need you" category, but even so, it was almost impossible to keep that stress from building; you should be glad you turned it down, even at 2X or 3X.

 

[Qs Laptop]

While it's no surprise that they now need more help, rather than asking for assistance, I received an email this week essentially ordering me back to work.

Order, who does he think he is? King?

That would be the end of any part time for them.

Yes, I'd like to know exactly how they massaged the request. How exactly did they phrase the writing ordering you back to work?

 

[CO-guy]

Yes, I'd like to know exactly how they massaged the request. How exactly did they phrase the writing ordering you back to work?

Without copying and pasting, the gist was: "We need the following......We understand that's more than half-time and so we will be providing you with a full-time contract for next year to reflect these added responsibilities."

I understand precisely what they need. I quit last year because I'm not interested in doing the added work they want for the peanuts they're offering. I have expertise in that area and I get paid handsomely as a consultant to do that kind of work remotely for other organizations. Currently my former employer is paying me half of my previous salary for working remotely ~10h/wk, and that's all I'm willing to give. Clearly they're not happy with the arrangement, and, quite frankly, I was doing them a favor, so easy enough to leave them hanging at this point.

 

[jldavid47]

I retired from my last job (consulting) in November of 2014. I left on good terms and about 8 months later I got a call asking if I would prepare and do some training for the client MegaCorp. Now, for the almost 6 years I was there I was underpaid (they were cheap bastards) but I wanted the money so I took it. I wrote up a proposal for basically twice of what they were paying me before. Their response was "Don't you think that's a bit much?" to which I responded "Take it or leave it." I finally had their ass nailed to the wall (because I was willing to walk away) and they took it. They ended up stalling paying me for 6 months and I had to threatened legal action to get it, but I finally got paid. Haven't w*rked for pay another day since.

 

[jldavid47]

Order, who does he think he is? King?

Perhaps some watery tart lobbed a sword at him.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Without copying and pasting, the gist was: "We need the following......We understand that's more than half-time and so we will be providing you with a full-time contract for next year to reflect these added responsibilities."

Reminds me of the line from Office Space when the boss comes up late Friday after and says, "I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in tomorrow, so if you could be in here around 9 that would be great. Oh, and I almost forgot, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, m-kay."

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Without copying and pasting, the gist was: "We need the following......We understand that's more than half-time and so we will be providing you with a full-time contract for next year to reflect these added responsibilities."

I can think of several responses but they all involve two words and aren't fit to be posted here. If that was really the presumptive tone, I would just tell them you've decided you're done.

One of the things that got me out the door was that I realized my job was impossible to do when I was no longer afraid of what the management could do to me.

I was unwilling to be brow beaten, I drew the line on the 20th iteration of a document because the boss was panic'd, I refused to chase bad, HIPPO ideas just to appease someone, and when my boss wouldn't take responsibility for his own bad decisions I put it right back on him.

People thought I was being disrespectful. I wasn't. I actually still thought quite highly of most of the leadership ... more than they thought of each other most days.

They were mistaking a lack of fear for a lack of respect.

I got lectured about managing my brand. I was told I wasn't "stepping up" to make my boss successful. I was told I was selfish and needed to make others look good. I was assigned a coach. I was told that the management team was frustrated with me.

Meanwhile, my co-workers and employees were cheering.

It was clearly time to go, so I spent four difficult months organizing my exit.

 

[wmc1000]

7+ years ago, I was working the last day of an agreed upon retirement date when my boss asked if I would be available in the future on an as needed basis.

I said I would consider at the same rate of pay as I was earning including benefits and vacation, which was almost twice my "hourly" pay rate.

My boss said he would pay the same "hourly" rate I had been earning and allow me "storage space" in the building for anything I wanted to keep there.

Needless to say, never spent another day there again and never looked back or had any regrets!

 

[CO-guy]

I can think of several responses but they all involve two words and aren't fit to be posted here. If that was really the presumptive tone, I would just tell them you've decided you're done.

I believe that's what I did, though I wasted a few extra words apparently.

To provide some context, several years ago I was asked by "dumpster fire" management to skill-up in a highly sought after area within our field. Individuals with those skills would occupy a VP role, and the offer was presented as a pathway to that role. After spending a year skilling up and completeing the needed projects for the organization, my presumptive boss gave the position to his (unqualified) girlfriend. Surprisingly, that arrangement lasted a few years, but upon her departure from the "dumpster fire" it became clear that she had done nothing, other than her boss.

It was at that point that "dumpster fire" management again turned their attention to me. However, after being turned down for a VP role, I started a consulting company and have been using those skills as a lucrative side hustle for the past several years. So lucrative in fact that, when "dumpster fire" management returned to 'demand' my help for continued employment, I just resigned. Eventually they agreed to a half-time position (with benefits) for this past year in exchange for my help with the most immediate "dumpster fire" problems.

Now that my contract for this past year is nearly done, open-enrollment starts for my better-half's employer in May, and any work I do for the "dumpster fire" in the future will be at my standard consulting rate.