Original Post Here
TLDR; of original post. I was told that if I didn't sign away a generous benefit then I'd be fired on the spot. I said “bet”. But instead of getting fired, I got a written three month notice of termination, which was odd. As many of you pointed out, though they gave me the impression that they wanted me to work through my “severance period”, the documentation said something different and things were presented in a very confusing way (maybe intentional, maybe just incompetence). The general advice was “go back to working the normal 40 hours, don't kill yourself, double check the contracts you signed and prepare to lawyer up.”
Which I did.
Update:
I figured I would give ya'll an update after everything played out, especially since you gave such good advice, and really helped me out!
I was riding out my incredibly long notice period by just working the allotted 40 – 45 hours a week, and had just stopped killing myself over the job. Then it started. The work I was doing was just getting harvested and claimed by other coworkers as their own. I was getting pushed around, nit-picked, bulldozed during meetings (at one point I was openly mocked during a presentation), the whole “let's push em' out so we don't have to” treatment.
TLDR; ya'll were right, something even shadier then I expected was afoot.
I went back through my contract and the benefit they tried to have me sign away was a really generous severance package due upon termination date (which I guess they tried to sell me on as a “notice”). This was something they wouldn't have to pay me if I quit of my own volition.
Considering the company is tight on funds right now, it didn't surprise me at all that they tried to “quiet fire me”. Suddenly, people had stopped talking to me, my ideas were getting rejected, and the overall narrative around me had changed pretty dramatically.
But, I'm resilient to most things, and even with reduced work assignments, not being credited for my work, and the difficult treatment, I found things to stay busy, became more communicative and was online more often than not. I didn't want to provide ANY reason for a legitimate release.
Eventually, they came to me with an offer to pay me out for my last month on notice and then I busted out the full contract. I told them I would remain employed and doing what was required by my contract, or they could pay the package and I would skip my happy little ass on home. They agreed.
On top of the package, there were other benefits in my contract that hadn't been fulfilled which they have factored into the total amount that I will now be getting paid.
Honestly, I think this is one of the first times I have truly stood up for myself when it comes to getting my dues and I'm really glad that I did. Then again, I am a really diligent recorder of info and had everything screen capped, copied and filed if I needed to bust out legal. I became more of a problem and a liability than they were willing to mess with, which I'm happy for.
If I wasn't a problem or a potential threat to them, I'd have gotten nothing. These were people I was in the trenches with, who had acted as my friends, who had been in the trenches with me and who I burned out with and for in a highly demanding and intense job.
And these were also the people who, in the middle of a recession and economic depression, tried to trick me into signing away a severance package that would have my rent paid for the next few months as I looked for work.
And when that didn't work, they treated me poorly so that they maybe wouldn't have to pay it at all. When that didn't work, they finally gave me what was promised to me in my contract.
The most important lesson I took from this experience:
No matter how kind, or fun or close you may seem with your coworkers or company, don't ever be fooled. They will throw you under the bus without a second thought to your physical or financial wellbeing.
They do not, and will not ever, care about you.