*Featured image contains photo by Pavel Danilyuk and Pixabay
It’s rough out there for a lot of people right now. The cost of living is on the rise, job security isn’t always great, and many of us are still grappling with the emotional and financial effects of the pandemic.
So to learn that you’re about to lose your job isn’t a great feeling. And if you’re the manager who has been told your job and your entire department’s jobs are being eliminated, it’s even worse. At that point, you’ve not only lost your income, but you’re the face responsible for everyone else losing theirs.
That’s why the actions of one man under such circumstances are being commended — he found a way to turn it around.
An Eight-Hour Notice
On an AskReddit thread about the “best” job-quitting experience Reddit users had ever had, a user named shortadamlewis won over the social media platform with his story. He explained how, once upon a time, he had been given eight hours to lay off his entire staff, himself included.
Rather than go about the normal workday and tell everyone at the end, the man decided that he was going to give everyone a memorable last day. So he ordered pizza for his staff and did something even more incredible: he helped every single one of them get a recommendation.
“I brought everyone into the conference room first thing,” he wrote. “I had everyone email me their resumes, and we went over everyone’s on the conference room projector and updated them over the course of the day.”
Finding the Positive in a Terrible Situation
In addition to updating resumes, this leader also printed out “reference” sheets for everyone, and the team spent the rest of the day writing letters of recommendation for one another.
“I ordered everyone pizza, and bought everyone a round of drinks at the bar next door,” he continued in his post. “Most folks had jobs by the end of the next week.”
People commended shortadamlewis on how he handled the situation and were captivated by the story. Still, he didn’t see anything special about it, and told Bored Panda that the real hero of the situation was his boss, who had supported him that day and initially took everyone to the bar.
“Letting people go is never fun. When we can, it never hurts to try and set someone up for success in the future even if they can’t be a success working with you,” he added to the publication.
Believing in Others
This story resonated with so many people because it’s a masterclass in how to treat others with respect. Not everyone is going to work out at every job. Sometimes projects get canceled or don’t succeed, and the work goes away. What does remain is the impression you leave people with.
It’s a good reminder that in life, we should always try and set others up for success in our own ways. In friendships, for example, it’s important to root for others to succeed, and to not be bogged down by negative emotions like jealousy.
Boost each other, share a kind word, and root for others to succeed. Sometimes one person’s success can be attributed to a wide net of contacts and relationships. And at some point, the person who might be seeking such success could be you.
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