On Everyone's Mind

Everyone seems to be worrying about layoffs right now. I'm no exception; it's making me nervous, too. I don't think anything is likely to happen to my job, but of course there's really no way to know. My company is laying people off right now. Marty's is too, and he works in an industry that is readying itself for a lean period, even more than mine is.

You can actually feel these companies battening down the hatches. The temps are always the first ones to go. My company is gradually letting go of most of its temps through the next month or so, and at Marty's they were all cut loose in one fell swoop last Friday. After the temps, they start cutting positions in different areas, trying to shave away any excess. What usually ends up happening is that work has to be stopped. Things that used to be considered essential are redefined as dispensible. I've seen it happen before, when my department went from four people to two early last year. (And of course, when it went from two people to one -- me -- last August.)

So I'm not really surprised that everywhere I turn right now, I'm hearing about layoffs. One friend whose company was just sold has been told that her job (which is very similar to mine) will be eliminated in a few months. A writer whose online journal I read every day was laid off yesterday. The company one of my former coworkers went to last year just had a big layoff. I don't know whether my old colleague was involved or not.

When this is the atmosphere at work, it doesn't seem there's a whole lot you can do besides just keep doing your job. But sitting around and waiting for something to happen feels so awful. So next week I am going to a career roundtable dinner meeting sponsored by a professional organization I belong to. I'm taking along my friend whose position is being eliminated at that other company. We're both planning to learn more about how to start doing freelance writing and communications, and other opportunities for writers and editors like us.

As Shaquille O'Neal once put it, I got skillz. I just need to make sure I keep getting to use them.