My situation: I live more than 70 miles from my job. The heinousness of my drive is legendary. And I can not stand it much longer.
My company has an office very close to my house. Out of desperation, I have asked the powers that be if I could do my job from that office. It wouldn’t take that much. A couple of PCAnywhere licences and I could do it. They declined, saying my physical presense is required in the Brea office. I e-mailed them back and told them that they need to start thinking about my replacement because my departure is only a matter of time.
Now my question: If they schedule a layoff in the near future, am I likely to be one of the laid-offs?
Now they could reason that they should lay me off because they are gonna lose me anyway. This way they keep the head count accurate and don’t have to call anyone back when I go.
Or they could reason that they shouldn’t lay me off because a layoff has a severance package. Why waste the money in the package when they could bide their time and wait for me to quit?
I’d say you sealed your fate when you told them to start looking for a replacement.
Since they’re laying off and not replacing (I’m assuming) they’re not going to go looking for a replacement and then dump you. They’ll get you in one of the layoff rounds and not worry about the severence.
Think of it this way:
Manager 1: We need another round of layoffs! Costs are too high and we’re taking a bath!
Manager 2: Who goes this time?
Manager 1: That guy in West Hills said he was on his way out the door. Let’s put him in the list and that’s one less set of hard feelings.
I can’t see it any other way unless your skills and abilities are absolutely mission-critical.
Well, yeah. So keep looking for another gig and hope you get one before they DO lay you off.
I wouldn’t expect they would simply fire you since they’re in lay off mode. They won’t be looking to REPLACE you, after all. They’ll just want to lower the head count. And they’ll do that on their own schedule. So if you are still there for the next round you’ll a high priority target, that’s all.
Then again, if they know that your itching to leave anyway, they may hold off on telling you to leave. Hoping you’ll do it on your own. If you can help it, stay until they lay you off.
Sounds like you put yourself in the cat birds seat: Either they lay you off and great you get severance or they don’t and you find a closer job and leave on your own – which you were going to do anyway.
It could also be that they will freak out, think “we can’t lose spooje” and throw a raise your way or let you work where you want.
Only if they were thinking “damn spooje really puts out for us and he has a bright, bright future here, let’s give him a conor office and a raise” that you may have screwed yourself – but it sounds like that wasn’t want you wanted – longer hours and more responsibility with the comapny
I agree that you’re sitting in a nice spot given that you’re leaving anyway.
I have no idea whether what you said gave you a greater chance of being laid off. At my company, it wouldn’t make much difference. Layoffs are decided based on which jobs to cut, not which people. They decide “position X isn’t as essential to the company as position Y”. If there are many people in “position X” and we don’t lay off all of them, decisions are usually based on seniority or salary.
In our last round of layoffs, I saw many really good people go and many mediocre people stay. The only exception is that sometimes a manager will move a top performer into an open position that’s not being cut, but that’s only if there is an open position available. They never replace someone in a safe position with a better performer with a postion on the cut list.
So it all depends on your company’s policy about layoffs.
Too bad that you fired off the “look for a replacement” line. If I was the manager and looking at job cuts & lay offs combined with the knowledge that you’re going to quit on your own, I’d try to wait and let you leave of your own accord. Had you not fired off the snippy line, you could have probably made yourself look good by volunteering to take the hit in place of another worker, now that would be seen as a shallow attempt to leave with a package instead of just leaving.
I’d say you shot yourself in the foot, or at the least inserted foot in mouth.
My general advice is to keep statements about your intent to leave strictly factual. That is, statements like “start looking for a replacement” or “I’m trying to find something closer” will typically turn on you. When you’re ready to say “I’ve got a new job lined up and I start there in 2 weeks,” say it.
That said, I don’t think you’re in a real bad position. They can take something from you that you don’t really want anyway (your current job). Getting paid severance and then immediately waltzing into a new position close to home is not something you’re entitled to. There’s a chance it will happen, if it does it’s gravy.
It wasn’t a snippy line. I wanted them to know my intentions so that wouldn’t be caught unaware. I’m the only one on my shift that knows how to do what I do. When I go, I don’t want to leave them in the lurch or put my counterpart on the opposite end of the week in the position of having to train someone to do my job on his days off. when you work 12 hour shifts, days off are all the more important to you. (plus there’s stuff that I do that doesn’t happen on his end of the week and he’s not that comfortable with it)
Be that as it may, it may still come back to haunt you. Probably depends upon your recent personal relationship with management and the size of the firm. If it’s good then you’ll get the depature you wish for. It it’s been strained, then I would keep an eye out for the knife in the back. Being the only one that does your job would not keep some managers from saving face by making sure to take advantage of the mode of your departure. If it’s a small firm, they will have that ability. If it’s a large firm then they would most likely need to build a documentation trail in your file first. (I’ve been in management for over 20 years and I’ve seen these things happen)
It’s been said already, but sadly you’ve reduced your options. Even if your intentions were good, sending an email saying “better start looking for a replacement” comes across as well, not being one of the team.
At this point, as you want out anyway, I recommend you talk to those in charge, in person this time (email was the way wrong method of telling them). Tell them you really enjoy working there (through your teeth if necessary), but that the commute is killing you and you’re going to have to look for something else. And that you want to let them know, so they can take steps to replace you.
I.e. come across as the good guy, and through no fault of yours or theirs, this isn’t going to work.
The severence package will definitely cross the minds of those who write up the layoff list. If you’re seen as a bad guy who will leave soon anyway maybe they’ll lay you off, or maybe they won’t, but the wasted severence package will be thought about. Being seen as the good guy is an advantage.
Actually, I did this very thing last night. I spoke with my boss’s boss and said what you have described. We talked about possible replacements and how long it would take each one to get up to speed.
And I made sure I would be able to get a letter or recommendation from him.