Captain’s log – supplemental.

The news of corporations laying off staff is nothing new to me.
2012 – It happened to me at the glass manufacturing company I worked with less than 2 months after getting hired.
2013-2017 – At my next employer there were multiple rounds of layoffs and I didn’t know when I might be next. After 3 rounds of it and a leaner and leaner team I started looking at options. Thankfully the economy was stable then and I was able to land another job through my network.
2020-Now – There have been a few in the org including those I report to who have been impacted over the years. Positions getting eliminated, furloughs, bankruptcy and other stuff I won’t go into detail here. Fast forward to February 2023 it’s happening again. Roughly 7 people I have worked with personally impacted but hundreds more across the org. Some may get severance packages but I’m guessing it’s a week or 2 for each year of service. Not the months and months some people get at other companies. I feel for them, through no fault of their own things went from a normal week to finding out their position was eliminated.

Am I personally impacted? Yes and no. Emotionally there has been a huge impact. However I still have a job and haven’t needed to take a pay cut or demotion. I am however concerned that I may be at the end of the road regarding promotions at the organization. Also highly unlikely I’ll get a bonus this year if I stay.

What am I doing about all of this? Currently I’m taking two marketing courses on Coursera. One is part of a 7 course program related to marketing and e-commerce, the other is related to the shifts happening between Digital and Analog. Also looking at job postings daily since no one is going to act on my behalf. The jobs I’m looking to apply for pay $140k-$160k but finding them with a match for my skillset has proven quite difficult.

I feel for people who are currently dealing with layoffs, I know how defeating that can be. I can do a week’s worth of modules in a day, over about an hour or so. I skim through the transcript and run on double speed.

Also making a concerted effort to eat healthier and stop ordering food from restaurants. My stress levels have been through the roof and my weight hit 271 at 5’9. If I don’t come up with better ways of managing the stress / eating better I’m just going to get fatter and more miserable. Not to mention be at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. So yeah calm the f*ck down and treat myself right. It starts with sleep and putting healthier items in the kitchen. $25 a meal on Doordash is ridiculous and half the time it’s loaded with sodium, calories, sugar, and fat.

Older people say young people aren’t loyal to corporations anymore. I’m not “young” but can you really blame them? Millennials have gone through so much and we’re not even 40. The dot-com bubble, housing crash, record high inflation, a global pandemic, recession, and a drop in high paying tech jobs we were taught to idolize the last 20 years. Ok bed time.. Zzzzz