It is possible that you are looking at these columns because you came to work one day and there was that dreaded letter from the HR department telling you the party is over and you have been retrenched. Retrenched, let go, released, terminated, dumped, all of it adds up to nothing. Fact is you have been sacked, that is it.
And you are all angry, all het up and you want to lash out and blame the system.
Now, it is very possible that you are a victim of the times and the company has reluctantly been forced to let you go even though it admired and appreciated your efforts. It is also possible that your services are no longer needed and it has nothing to do with your ability, it is just one of those things.
It happens and you have to roll with the punch.
On the other hand, and believe me, there are enough of these types, who ask for it and then never understand that they are responsible for their predicament. Self-delusion is a corporate requisite. It comes with the territory and many of us spend our careers engaged in activities designed to survive, be it by deceit, by nepotism, by being the office snitch, by currying favor, by being the office “telegraph,” always first with the news, by letting down the others to look good.
The worst offenders are those who play office politics. They may get away with it for a while but in the end it always catches up. They could be the blue-eyed boys for the boss but if the boss changes out they are thrown out just like the baby with the bathwater. Often, they are caught misusing company property and cheating and they think they are too smart, no one knows but people do.
So before you point fingers at the company see if the farewell, so long song is because you have not done your bit like not even doing your job properly or sincerely, abusing your chair to moonlight, a dozen indiscretions of faith and trust. Some of us we go to work to do everything but work. We work the system, milking it to our advantage, righteous and insincere in equal measure, always ready to pass the buck as well as the blame to someone else.
Then, one day, when the axe drops we are shocked. How could they do this to me, I was one of the good ones. Actually, you were not. You stopped being one of the good ones long back, when you took the wrong turn and put yourself before your duty. You are not a bad chap; you just are no longer a good one.
Take comfort in the fact that the company has let you go without taking more punitive actions. They could have. Contrary to how smart you think you are, the company knows exactly what you are doing, when you are doing the dirty behind their back, when you are misusing power or funds or simply ducking your work.
Finally, even they cannot allow the goodwill to let you go. So, silently, without accusation, they take you out of the line. Be angry but be honest. You asked for it.
