 "I had been working at a software company since 2017. While the company was headquartered in Edmonton, they'd bought another company based in Calgary, and that was where I was working. I don't think it was doing too well, because in the year before my layoff, they had sold the original office building and moved everyone into a WFH/coworking situation, and also laid off a handful of people. I'm not even sure if the round of layoffs I was a part of were caused by the pandemic, or if they just used it as a handy excuse to cut some costs.
Anyway, they sent out a message on the morning of April 1, 2020 (I still can't believe that date). 15 minutes before quitting time, I received an invite to join a meeting at 5 PM. I immediately knew what it was, especially after I asked the rest of my team if they'd received one and they said they hadn't. I was the only web designer not in Edmonton, and I also had the least seniority, having joined the last. It made sense to give me the axe. I was able to take the entire summer off, thanks to the CERB program, and honestly it was pretty great. Felt like I was back in school, not worrying about anything. I found another job in August 2020...which I got laid off from exactly a year later, in August 2021. I'm at a new place now, and I like it well enough, but if it lasts a year I'll be genuinely surprised. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that designers in the tech world are pretty expendable, and are also in high demand (this might apply to workers in general, come to think of it). It's been pretty easy to find another job very quickly. This fact has made me pretty apathetic in general towards the idea of work: I do the best job I know how, but I don't work a second of overtime, and I don't think about my work when I'm not on the clock. Work is work, and I don't think I'll ever be the type of person to let it take over my life and burn me out. My employers have certainly shown that they're only paying me for my skills, not because they feel any loyalty towards me, and I return the favour. If a better offer comes along, I'll gladly take it. My first loyalty has always been to myself, and so far selfishly guarding my own sanity has worked out pretty great for me." ~ Sara Zampa Comments are closed.
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