Over the course of a 40+ year career, I was laid off from my
job four times (or was it five?). So, while I empathize with anyone who has
been let go, I find great amusement in reading the reactions of federal workers who suddenly find
themselves in the unthinkable position of being unemployed.
News flash to these outraged, newly out-of-work workers:
Nobody owes you a living. I've been let go at highly inopportune times, left
without income when I was paying a child's tuition, when my husband had cancer,
and when I was a newly self-supporting widow. There were no lavish, half-year
severance packages for me, either. On one occasion I received one month's
severance pay; all other layoffs offered only two weeks' pay. Yet it never
occurred to me to carry a placard and march around my former employer's
building protesting this cruel and unfair treatment.
There was no time for such self-indulgence after being let
go from my job in trying circumstances. Each time I lost my job I sat down and
polished my resume, called my network contacts, set up interviews, and got
myself re-situated in a new position as soon as I possibly could. I wasn't
picky, either. Any job offer that was reasonably comparable to my lost position
would do and was accepted promptly.
This was back when five days a week in the office was
required. There was no such concept as "remote work." You got
yourself into work on time Monday through Friday for at least eight hours each
day or you would find yourself job-hunting again quite quickly.
Having recently retired and experienced Medicare glitches,
I've had occasions to contact federal workers. I've spent up to
three-and-a-quarter hours on telephone hold times. When I did finally reach a
live person, there was either a dog barking or a child crying in the
background. There was extreme indifference to my issues, and it took three
months to find an interested federal employee (who happened to be in the
office) who possessed enough work ethic to straighten out the problems in my account.
For the most part, the laid off federal employees had an entitled and unrealistic impression of the working world. A good job is not a birthright; it's a privilege, and it needs to be earned every workday. Put down your protest signs and get busy networking and job-hunting. There is precious little sympathy for you among most American workers. Good luck in the real world.
