Hi r/antiwork,
I’m writing this after much deliberation, usually I’m not the type to share original posts, but I think there is a valuable lesson that someone close to me experienced that many here can benefit from.
In 2018 my mom was let go from a company that she had over 35 years of experience with. The termination was due to the closure of their location.
It’s worth mentioning that my mom has always been the type of person that doesn’t ask for much, is agreeable, and has unwavering loyalty to her employer. She’s the type of person who would drive an hour out of her way on the weekend if she got a call to make sure the gate was locked at her office building. She’s a star employee that anyone would be lucky to have.
When she learned the office would be permanently closing, she asked her boss if there were any possibility for remote work, after all she was only a few years off of retirement and she was a valuable player who they could benefit from keeping around. The company declined, but they did offer her to stay on a few weeks to complete the close out of the facility, transfer files, etc. This was after they already raptured up all of the employees that they deemed worthy of keeping their job. That’s it – over 35 years of loyalty, and she got a couple of extra paychecks.
She went to work for another, much smaller, company that is in the same industry and is now making less than $20/hr. with over 40 years of experience – less than $0.50/ hr. per year of experience.
The moral of the story is that I see a lot of posts here about different ways in which people are planning on getting back at their employer for wronging them, and the truth is there’s only one way to get back at them – resign. Find a new job, and resign. The best and most efficient way to show someone your value is to completely remove your value from the equation. If you’re unhappy where you’re at, the ball is in your court. The job market is hot. Don’t wait until someone at the top of the food chain decides that they don’t need you anymore because their bottom line means more than you.