Dropped by the old office today...

[WestUniversity]

I don't think I'll drop in there again! It was nice to see some people, but just being in that environment made me feel like the walls were closing in again.

That’s my concern as well. I feel like I’m finally starting to level back out. Told my wife last week that I haven’t felt this good in a very long time. DW said that she is amazed at how much different I am and how quickly it’s changed. I would hate to relapse... [emoji23]

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Beside the point? Uh..well, I am curious. What did he want to know and were you able to help? After all, this IS ER.org...

He's thinking about pulling the plug in a couple of years and wanted an update. I've tried to point him here to ER.org before; I'm not sure he's found us yet.

He had to get back to work and I think he was anxious to not be overheard discussing ER at work so our conversation on that subject didn't get very far. We agreed to set up a double date with our DW/SO soon and I'm sure he'll bring it up again.

I do miss some of the people but I sure don't miss w*rk. It was against my better judgement to go up to the office but I'm glad I got to see some folks. Just in case the urge to go back ever crops up (not bloody likely!), I'm vaccinated against it a bit more.

 

[jollystomper]

It is a shame that a place that some of you probably spent a significant portion of your life at churns your stomach so much. It should not be that way. And it never was for me.

I post this to present an alternate point of view for the young people reading this. Life is good; life was good. If your life isn't good now while working (or retired), then change it. Don't become one of those folks who shudder thinking of the past.

+1

I went back to my old workplace last month, I was invited to a retirement lunch they were having for a colleague. I felt so comfortable to the point where my former 2nd line manager said, half-jokingly "you look like you'd have not problem fitting back in, don't you think?"

Other than the drive around Northern VA (which I could tolerate from a "glad I don't have to do this anymore" standpoint), I felt a nice sense of satisfaction. Maybe because not only did I enjoy the job, but I worked to leave on good terms and not burn any bridges.

I agree - my Megacorp life, on the whole, was good, and it allowed me to retire, which is also good. So no qualms about dropping back in to the old office. On my terms and schedule, of course.

 

[MarieIG]

Beside the point? Uh..well, I am curious. What did he want to know and were you able to help? After all, this IS ER.org...


The airplanes that fly over the house on occasion with former co-w*rkers is close enough for me.

I remember a number of years ago when a co-w*rker retired, he continued to come into the office 2 or 3 times a week to "be social". It was funny at first, and we harassed him but eventually he became a nuisance and a distraction. One morning when he came in, he saw at his old desk (was still unoccupied) there was a note from the commander telling him that he couldn't come in anymore and to stay away. It was really kinda of sad, in more ways than one.

That is very sad!

 

[Beststash]

Funny!! I enjoyed the remarks of everyone. Life is indeed a trip.

 

[DrRoy]

I see my former coworkers annually at the Christmas party. I generally enjoy hearing about the troubles that are not mine any longer.

 

[jfn111]

I enjoy chatting with a few other retirees now and then but have no desire to drop by the old office. I had a good 33 year run but I closed the door on that chapter when I left.

 

[mountainsoft]

It has been several (10+?) years ago, but I stopped by my old employer one day to say hello. It was a small company, just my boss, his wife, and myself. While working there I always felt more like friends than boss/employee. We had done dinner together, they used to babysit our daughter, etc.

However, that last visit was just awkward. They were busy with the task of running a business and other than a quick hello didn't seem interested in catching up. I left that day promising myself to never do that again.

We did not keep in touch after that. I thought they would have retired by now, but a quick search online shows they are still doing business today.

 

[Scuba]

For me it is a mix. Many of our close friends are people I met at Megacorp, where I worked from 1986-2006. When we get together, we rarely talk or think about Megacorp as we all moved on from there long ago.

OTOH, I’ve found I don’t enjoy getting together with people from my last employer. I worked there for 10 years but never socialized much with folks from work. Therefore when I have seen or spoken with them, we don’t have much to talk about other than work, which I’m not interested in now. I’ve never gone back to my old office, and don’t see myself ever doing that.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I've been out of megacorp for almost 10 years now. I still occasionally will have a dream that I am working there - worse than that I am on a business trip for Megacorp and I realize I no longer work there. That's enough to keep me from visiting.

 

[brett]

Never been back. No desire to do so. Too busy moving forward to look back. Besides, I worked in a fast moving industry where the tenure was often less than five years. Not to mention constant downsizing and restructuring.

 

[FreeBear]

I've been out of megacorp for almost 10 years now. I still occasionally will have a dream that I am working there - worse than that I am on a business trip for Megacorp and I realize I no longer work there. That's enough to keep me from visiting.

Used to get these w*rk-mares at least weekly or more when I first retired. Most of the time I would dream that I kept showing up for w*rk even after announcing my retirement. In the dream, I would w*rk for several weeks, only to realize that I wasn't getting a paycheck. I would then realize that the deposits had stopped because I told my boss that I was retired! Another w*rkmare would involved being stuck in some foreign country, trying to figure out how to get back home.


After 4 years of retirement, these dreams have grown much less frequent, maybe monthly, and are far less intense and negative. Typically I would be chatting pleasantly with former coworkers.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Used to get these w*rk-mares at least weekly or more when I first retired. Most of the time I would dream that I kept showing up for w*rk even after announcing my retirement. In the dream, I would w*rk for several weeks, only to realize that I wasn't getting a paycheck. I would then realize that the deposits had stopped because I told my boss that I was retired! Another w*rkmare would involved being stuck in some foreign country, trying to figure out how to get back home.


After 4 years of retirement, these dreams have grown much less frequent, maybe monthly, and are far less intense and negative. Typically I would be chatting pleasantly with former coworkers.

Mine are less frequent also, but very similar. I love the term, w*rkmare.

I did have one the other day. I think it was because I was approached about my interest in a possible consulting job, which did sound interesting. And then that night I had the dream!

I wonder what the analysis of these would be!

 

[ychuck46]

Never

Each time I left a company I moved to a competitor so going back was never an option. When I left my last company five years ago for early retirement I had been working out of my home office many years. Never had any inclination or desire to go back and visit the last company at any location, since that company was the absolute worst experience as an employee I had ever experienced.

 

[wsmurdoch]

I see my former coworkers annually at the Christmas party. I generally enjoy hearing about the troubles that are not mine any longer.

I retired from Eastman Chemical Company (a Kodak successor company) in 2004 a few years after an unprecedented mass firing of professional employees and a continuing series of voluntary separation plans and benefit reductions. Retirees are no longer allowed on the site for Christmas parties. I guess we are too much of a risk.

Other than a couple of short periods of limited service employee employment, I have not been back.

 

[Gumby]

I am leaving w*rk at the end of May. I don't believe I'll ever go back to the office because (a) it is 50 miles from home and (b) they're moving to an entirely new building in November.

 

[CardsFan]

I am leaving w*rk at the end of May. I don't believe I'll ever go back to the office because (a) it is 50 miles from home and (b) they're moving to an entirely new building in November.

A perfect reason to not go back!

I went back only one time, a week after retirement date, but only to turn in my cell phone (they let me keep it while I bought a new one and ported the number). I went to IT, turned it in, and left.

I have gone to some "off site" after hours get togethers, but not in a while. And I do have our biweekly retiree lunch. Usually 12-20 old folks, most much older than me.

 

[cranberryjoe]

I can't visit my old office like that anymore. I ER'd from Megacorp with a package shortly before the layoffs began. About a year later, after more packages and layoffs, they moved to smaller, less expensive digs that I'm told everyone hated. Then my old department was decimated by a layoff. Almost nobody I worked with remains. If I went back to the old physical office, it would be a company I never worked for (although I hear a few of my old colleagues got hired there). And if I went to the new office, which I've never seen, I wouldn't recognize the space, the people, or the work they do since the work my old department did has moved off-shore.

I'm extremely lucky my ER finances have worked out. My Plan B was to go back to my old department at Megacorp and beg for a job. Apparently they were the ones that needed a Plan B, not me.

I still meet up with one former coworker frequently for lunch, and another a few times a year. Otherwise it's rare that I run into anyone. That phase of my life is over.

 

[Original Wally]

I **kind of** kept in touch for a while (retired 12/2009). THEN ... it just kind of faded away. I DO try to have brunch quarterly with 3 other close former co-workers. BUT with all of our travel, and Medical stuff even THAT is getting difficult.
I DID join a men's club here in California - Sons In Retirement. And half a dozen former coworkers are also in that branch. There is Golfing 3-4 opportunities per week and a bowling league.

BUT to actually GO INTO the office ... nah. Why?? After reading this thread, though, I will call a few friends up for lunch. ANY excuse to go to a good Mexican restaurant. LOL.

 

[CardsFan]

Apparently they were the ones that needed a Plan B, not me.

I LOVE this line.

 

[HI Bill]

I used to go visit the office where I interned as a high school and college student. Lots of genuinly nice folks there. But, after a couple of visits, most of the folks I knew had moved on, or retired. Haven't been back in more than 15 years. Miss both the people, and the interesting office, curiously enough (they had an engineering section, biology section, water quality section, and geology section). Guess I'm still a science nerd!

I also went to two high school reunions. Definitely don't feel the need to ever go to another one of those!

 

[MRG]

I received a call the other night. A guy who was a mentor and really helped my career called, out of the blue. He lives 2500 miles away. A while into the conversation he put me on hold for a minute. I heard a different voice come on with him, another guy who lives 2400 miles away. We all met about 1985 and w*rked together for almost 15 years.

I hadn't heard this voice in 5 years. This guy is a miracle, 8 years he was told to get his affairs in order. Today he's ok, a walking, talking, medical miracle. I hadn't w*rked with these two chucklehead clowns in almost 20 years. I'm truly grateful to know both....

We are trying to get a reunion of chucklehead clowns together.

 

[Elliotgb183]

I’d sooner have my tonsils extracted through my bung hole than return to my former mega Corp

 

[PointBreeze]

Yikes. I have nausea just thinking about returning to any office I ever worked in. Or any college, or high school also.

+1

 

[scrabbler1]

After I retired in late 2008, I stayed in touch with a few people there via email. One coworker I was friends with, and we stayed in touch more, including meeting up with him a few times (pleasure purpose, not related to his office). He retired last year, more or less, still doing some occasional work for the company from home.


A I have written in this forum many times over the years, I despised the commute. It was long, tiring, and expensive. So I have no reason to ever return there. It cost me $20 a day on two trains (LIRR and PATH) to get to the office in Jersey City, New Jersey, from where I live on Long Island, NY. Due to fare increases, it would now cost me $25 even if I avoided the rush hour. And it takes 75 minutes each way.


The closest I have come to my old office has been across the Hudson River in lower Manhattan doing some touristy stuff with my ladyfriend (and the former coworker). I was on the Jersey side of the river once on Amtrak, so I saw the building briefly from a few miles away.


I worked for 23 years and 4 months there. Had I made it to 25 years, I would have been invited to the 25-year club. Not sure if former employees remained in the club but I would have avoided that, too.


Most of the coworkers I knew are either gone, transferred to other departments (many re-orgs), or deceased. I rarely did anything with coworkers when I was there, so I have no interest now.


Just to contrast this with another place I worked at (a page at my local public library when I was a teenager), I have stopped by the library often over the years even though I don't live near there (it's in my childhood neighborhood, and my dad lives around there). And a few of the librarians still work there, nearly 40 years later! They were friendly people I enjoyed catching up with, and they were happy to see me (they barely recognized me).