The other drama
Fursuits? Oh... Yeah... ...Right.
Back in the middle of May I got a call from my current boss who told me that I was being laid off as of June first. At first I was a little surprised and panicked, but a few friends helped me gain a perspective on the situation. My job has changed a lot over the past 5+ years and when my boss called to tell me that I was being laid off, I was being laid off from a job that started out as a “support” position, but over the years it has started to slowly turn into a “sales” position. By “sales” position I mean that the job has a quota and expectations that I have to meet, but I’m not paid on any kind of a commission basis. I like to think that my job is very carrot and stick, carrot being you get a paycheck and keep your job, stick is that you get fired.
The reasons to actually do well at my job were few and far between considering that my boss has been replaced twice since I’ve been with the company and both times it has been from outside of the company so that means there is no room for advancement. The only reason why I stick around is that having a job currently affords me the benefit of having a “lifestyle disease” (diabetes) without being financially ruined.
When my boss called I was a little panicked, but I did eventually come to a few realizations: 1) The past few months I was not meeting my monthly minimum quotas and I was on the verge of being fired because of that (signed documentation that this was my “final warning”.) 2) If I get “laid off” I was going to get a) a severance package b) guaranteed unemployment c) continuing education credits to be retrained into a different field of work. 3) If I was going to “beg” to keep my job I could still get fired if my quotas weren’t met. 4) If I get fired I won’t get any benefits and I would have to fight with my job to get unemployment. Needless to say that with a different outlook on the situation I was pretty excited.
I believe that was where my problem came in, because I knew I was going to be laid off I was free. I did not care how I did with customers and It didn’t matter what my quota was it didn’t even matter how much time I took with people. I could talk about the craziest crap and it didn’t matter. This became a problem because people were opening up to me and becoming more receptive when I would explain how X, Y, or Z product would benefit them. They were buying more from me and pretty son my quota was sky rocketing. I began to take notice and started a running joke that I was turning into one of the “top reps” in the region and yet I was going to be laid off. Instead, alarm bells should have been ringing.
Halfway through last month I had a dreaded “sit down” with my manager. Apparently someone higher up took note of what I was doing and decided that I was no longer going to be offered the option to be laid off and that I was going to have to keep my job or resign. This of course ruined all of my beautiful plans for doing all the things I wanted to do after July first. I am also still pissed off and bitter about how I was treated, especially to no longer even have the option to take the lay off. I don’t know what I am going to do at this point. I still have to go to work every day because I cannot quit. If I quit then I get nothing. If I am somehow able to get them to fire me over not hitting my quota there is a very real possibility that I can argue my way onto unemployment. I sure am not going to be getting any kind of severance package if I quit or if I get laid off. I am just kind of stuck not knowing what to do.
Back in the middle of May I got a call from my current boss who told me that I was being laid off as of June first. At first I was a little surprised and panicked, but a few friends helped me gain a perspective on the situation. My job has changed a lot over the past 5+ years and when my boss called to tell me that I was being laid off, I was being laid off from a job that started out as a “support” position, but over the years it has started to slowly turn into a “sales” position. By “sales” position I mean that the job has a quota and expectations that I have to meet, but I’m not paid on any kind of a commission basis. I like to think that my job is very carrot and stick, carrot being you get a paycheck and keep your job, stick is that you get fired.
The reasons to actually do well at my job were few and far between considering that my boss has been replaced twice since I’ve been with the company and both times it has been from outside of the company so that means there is no room for advancement. The only reason why I stick around is that having a job currently affords me the benefit of having a “lifestyle disease” (diabetes) without being financially ruined.
When my boss called I was a little panicked, but I did eventually come to a few realizations: 1) The past few months I was not meeting my monthly minimum quotas and I was on the verge of being fired because of that (signed documentation that this was my “final warning”.) 2) If I get “laid off” I was going to get a) a severance package b) guaranteed unemployment c) continuing education credits to be retrained into a different field of work. 3) If I was going to “beg” to keep my job I could still get fired if my quotas weren’t met. 4) If I get fired I won’t get any benefits and I would have to fight with my job to get unemployment. Needless to say that with a different outlook on the situation I was pretty excited.
I believe that was where my problem came in, because I knew I was going to be laid off I was free. I did not care how I did with customers and It didn’t matter what my quota was it didn’t even matter how much time I took with people. I could talk about the craziest crap and it didn’t matter. This became a problem because people were opening up to me and becoming more receptive when I would explain how X, Y, or Z product would benefit them. They were buying more from me and pretty son my quota was sky rocketing. I began to take notice and started a running joke that I was turning into one of the “top reps” in the region and yet I was going to be laid off. Instead, alarm bells should have been ringing.
Halfway through last month I had a dreaded “sit down” with my manager. Apparently someone higher up took note of what I was doing and decided that I was no longer going to be offered the option to be laid off and that I was going to have to keep my job or resign. This of course ruined all of my beautiful plans for doing all the things I wanted to do after July first. I am also still pissed off and bitter about how I was treated, especially to no longer even have the option to take the lay off. I don’t know what I am going to do at this point. I still have to go to work every day because I cannot quit. If I quit then I get nothing. If I am somehow able to get them to fire me over not hitting my quota there is a very real possibility that I can argue my way onto unemployment. I sure am not going to be getting any kind of severance package if I quit or if I get laid off. I am just kind of stuck not knowing what to do.