Hark! Hear The Death Knell!

Something I discovered a number of years ago: when your employer starts hiring consultants to give its employees lessons on things like “effective customer service” and “team building”, it’s time to start looking for another job.

I’ve worked for three separate companies that did this. The first time, the “old timers” immediately started predicting doom. I couldn’t understand why. I thought, “no big deal. It’s a seminar. We learn something that helps us do our jobs more efficiently.” I stuck it out for another year but ended up having to take a job I didn’t want for less money before I ended up on the street because the company I worked for couldn’t afford to keep people. Within five years, my previous employer was bought by a larger company and dissolved.

When it happened the second time, my hackles were raised but I stuck it out anyway, hoping that the first time was an aberration. It wasn’t. Fortunately I didn’t stick around as long that time. Within a few weeks, the signs were everywhere. I, along with the rest of the management team was gone within six months of each other – all on our own terms. That company still exists but, from what I understand, it’s a financial drain on the owner.

The third time it happened, I hooked up with a couple of headhunters the day the announcement was made. Within three months, I had a new job. That company was bought by a “Consulting Services” group and was turned into a company that handled a completely different business. Most of the employees were let go. Of the few that remain, one is in upper management and doing extremely well. The rest are easily some of the most miserable people I know.

Flash forward to today. In my inbox was an announcement that we the minions of my current employer, are to attend a seminar being presented by a consulting firm. The announcement makes no mention of the nature of this seminar - just be there - but looking up the firm online led me to a description of a company that specializes in developing strategic marketing and sales programs for our industry.

This time it’s different, though. In the previous instances I was 1) living in major metropolitan areas and 2) considerably younger. I’m now hitting my mid-40s and living in an area where people are excited to get a job that pays $11 an hour because opportunities like that are few and far between.

Now, I should be able to deal with this. I mean, as I said before, I’m hitting my mid-40s. This shouldn’t be the kind of thing that bothers me but along with the maturity of middle age comes the responsibilities of middle age. I have a family to support. And besides having the income stream continue to flow, I’m pretty sure they’d prefer it if, when I came home I wasn’t pissed off all the time.

Then there’s Buddhism. If I really believe the things I say I believe, this should just roll right off my back. I should be focused on the truly important things (we’ll forget for the moment that paying bills is actually important and focus on things like the four noble truths and the eightfold path).

So it’s time to suck it up and play the hand that life deals to me. Right?

Um, yes. Apparently so.

So I sit tight, be a good little employee…and wait.

 

 

Are we there yet?

 

 

What about now?