I pit my former dipshit co-workers

The BBQ Pit
1

I was laid off back in February. I worked in the purchasing department of an IT reseller that had a bad year and was in the process of restructuring, both of which (they felt) required downsizing my department. In the first round of layoffs, two of my co-workers were let go. We were told that there wouldn’t be any more, but lo and behold about six weeks later, I show up one Friday morning and I’m called into the HR director’s office and given the bad news. My boss sat in the office with me with a clear pissed-off look on his face. He knew now that they were overcutting, but the decision was over his head.

Some months later, my boss gets a new job and leaves the company. I already knew that he was somewhat unhappy there for a variety of reasons, but he is a great guy and did make a lot of friends in that company. When speaking to one of my former co-workers in my department, my layoff was the last straw for him. Apparently after my layoff, they gave my work to another kid who was hired around the same time I was (this was my first job out of college) and told him that he had to take over all my work if he wanted to keep his job. Once that happened, the whole department got swamped and actually held a meeting with one of the managing directors to explain that they needed to either hire me back or hire some new people, because they cannot efficiently complete all the work coming their way. When they were denied, my boss began his job search.

Around this time, I got my new job which happens to be in the same area as my old office. Every now and then, when walking around the downtown area at work to grab lunch or something, I run into them. 9 out of 10 times, they turn their nose up at me. “Whatever, fuck them” I always thought. I don’t have to deal with them anymore.

I recently met with the guy who took over my work for beers, and I found out the reason they’ve been this way is that they blame the loss of their friendly purchasing manager that everyone loved (my old boss) completely on me. They think that if I was a better worker (even though I wasn’t laid off due to performance, which I was told by the CFO himself as well as other people in my old department), I would still have my job there and he wouldn’t have gotten frustrated and left.

I’m sorry, but this just burns my ass a little. I wasn’t a bad employee, I was given a glowing review as well as a raise in the performance review I had just weeks before my layoff, and I know that my boss was unhappy with lots of things within that company. I didn’t have any beef with anyone in the office prior to this, so I can’t understand why I’m being scapegoated. Everything that happened was out of my hands, so why am I the asshole for this?

2

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna go eat some worms…

3

You go ahead and do that.

4

Shit happens?

Pull your big boy pants up and move on. Dwelling on past wrongs and injustices will drive you mental. I’m getting old now, and I’m sure I’ve got bucketloads more grievances and pointing fingers than you that I can dredge up at any given time. Ain’t worth the effort anymore.

Which reminds me…where are those little voodoo dolls of my older sister, boss back in 1987, guy who cut me off in traffic last year, arsehole who stole my Vegemite from the office fridge…?? :smiley:

5

Fair enough, but I did just learn that they all felt this way. I know I’ll get over it, but I can’t help feel a little pissed that they would blame that whole debacle on me right at this moment.

6

No wonder they kept him on. Most people want a paycheck.

7

Totally understand. Sometimes it takes a little while to process when crap like this happens, but don’t let it boil and fester inside you. Most likely it is management filtering the gossip that your old boss left because of **your **layoff because they don’t want to acknowledge he left due to other dissatisfaction with the job. You’re just the current fall-guy…sooner or later, it’ll be someone else.

8

Shit happens in the IT world. Get over it. Move on.
Or… just Cry Me a River…your choice.

Sigh. Kids these days.
Put a game face on, dress respectably, network, and hit the streets.
Quit crying about the Big Bad World.

9

They need a scapegoat. People in an unhappy situation need someone to blame. It’s easiest on the remaining people to blame someone who isn’t there any more. It could have been anyone, don’t dwell on it. I would even bet if you were to meet each individual and ask them, they will be fine with you on the individual level, the blaming/naming/griping is a group mentality that just happens to have your name on it. They sound miserable.

10

I appreciate the advice, but I did find a new job already. I just needed to rant.

11

They are, from my understanding. Apparently after my departure, they cut my benefits for the third year in a row and it’s forced lots of people to look for new jobs.

12

LMAO yeah, this is true.

13

When you run into your ex-coworkers, you’re in public, right? Out on the street, not on any company property?

Next time one of them gives you the stink eye, knock him the fuck out.

Just smile, get in his (or her) face, and then, POW!

Then stand over him and jeer, “You got knocked the fuck out! Ha ha! Who’s the clown now, bitches?!”

Have one of your friends videotape it and post it on Worldstar Hip Hop.

Okay, don’t do that. Just vent on your favorite message board. Fine, but my way is so much more exciting.

14

Hey- if those chumps think you somehow caused your old boss to quit, rather than your own layoff being the precipitating event for his departure, then clearly these people aren’t thinking about this rationally or even intelligently.

Something you had no control over caused your absence to be missed, which ultimately made your old boss leave as well. That’s quite a compliment in many ways; they seem both bitter and kind of ignorant about the whole thing.

15

Yeah, now that I’m calm and thinking about this rationally, I understand this. It just sucks enough to get a pink slip through no fault of your own. Having co-workers feel this way to boot feels like a real kick in the groin.

16

This. They blame you for getting laid off (not your decision) which led to their boss quitting (also not your decision). Not speaking to you seems like they’re doing you a solid - smile graciously and walk on.

17

I should clarify that no one in my old purchasing department shares this opinion. They were all pissed at my layoff as well, and know that the departure of my old boss wasn’t my fault. It’s (a lot of) the rest of the office that feels this way.

18

Can’t you just bang some college chick and make it all better?

19

That would be cool, but I haven’t had lots of time to process this info.

20

It sounds to me like it may just be that they don’t have enough information. You know why you were laid off and the full reasons for why your boss left. How sure are you that they have all of that information as well, especially if these are people from other departments? Maybe all they know is that you got laid off and they just assumed that performance must have been a part of it, otherwise, why you and not someone else? Maybe they knew that part of the reason your boss left was because you were laid off, as you put it yourself, it was the last straw.

So maybe they pieced together partial information and thought you were your former boss’s pet, you sucked at your job and got canned, your boss got upset about it and quit. If that’s what they’re thinking, I can understand why that would make them upset. Of course, they’re still foolish for filling in the blanks and it doesn’t help them to blame you, even if you were responsible, because you have no control over their current working situation. It’s always easier to blame someone else and, especially if they feel you played a part in it, they can feel justified in that blame too.

In the end, though, I’d just say chalk it up to them likely being uninformed and frustrated with their situation and not necessarily that they have good reason to think your an asshole. I’d also say you should feel fortunate that you got out before things got worse. And it’s just an unfortunate thing that it seems some people feel the need to spread negative rumors for feeligns about former coworkers when they leave. At least you know that, whatever their real reasons may be, it’s on them, not you. I think with a little time and thought, and some venting, it’ll go away pretty quickly.