I was “terminated without cause” while eating my lunch.
This happened two weeks ago and I still haven’t completely come to terms with it. The company I worked for was a local start-up with three other employees, including my boss, the “CEO”. We were just starting to gain recognition and pull in some serious money when my boss decides he doesn’t want to pay me the below-median pay I was already getting and would rather trap a freshly graduated student and pay them nothing. Just like he did to me.
He didn’t actually say that money was the reason but I know it is. I had to beg him for a raise for a whole year and when I finally got one it was an extra $5000/annually. Yes, that’s right. 5000 dollars extra PER YEAR while he was paying himself over triple my salary, all while being completely incompetent. Not to mention is was the ONLY person in my entire department and was responsible for the work of about 10 people. When I started, my department was non-existent and I spent countless hours after work, unpaid, building and fixing problems that they simply could not do without me.
I know your boss is your boss and never your friend, no matter what, but I felt like I deserved even just a little bit more respect. After our daily morning zoom meeting, he asked me to cut my lunch short and jump on a meeting where he immediately said “I just want to let you know you’re being terminated” and noting else. He didn’t even have the decency to fire me himself. Instead, he had some completely unknown HR guy that I didn’t even know worked for us do it. I at least expected a “it was great working with you for 2 WHOLE YEARS, good luck out there” but I got nothing. And, because my job is literally a necessity to the company and he definitely would need someone to fill my shoes ASAP, I’m assuming he was interviewing people for my job for at least a few weeks before letting me go.
How money hungry can someone be? To look me in the eyes and say “you’re doing an amazing job and we wouldn’t be where we are today without your help” then interview someone else to swoop in and take over MY hard work?
Sorry for the huge rant I just can’t stop thinking about how no matter how secure you think you are, or how important you are in your job, YOU’RE NOT. If they can find someone cheaper to do your job, they don’t care if it’s done like shit, they’ll do it. I don’t think very highly of myself on the best of days, but this whole thing has made me truly realize that I could be out there doing anything I wanted because I’m very good at my f*****g job and I’m certainly better than the soulless corporate slog I’ve been letting myself get dragged through.
Thanks for listening!!