Not Working by DW Gibson

I just finished reading Not Working by author DW Gibson. In the book he crisscrosses the U.S. conducting 59 interviews with various people who've recently lost their jobs. From recent grads to those who had worked for their companies for over 30 years, they all had stories to tell.

One sentiment many of them expressed was disillusionment. The American dream of security, prosperity, independence was a distant and now unachievable goal. Lives were crushed along with all hope of a financially secure future.

The stories of the older folks were the saddest - The dedicated ones who loyally served their employers through thick and thin for 20 or 30 or more years. Many were turfed with little or no compensation after a merger or because of the economic downturn. Most of them were over 50 and had little or no hope of finding a new job. Who would hire someone that age after all? Meanwhile their CEOs walked away with millions in bonuses in recognition of their cost cutting measures.

To top it off most had no health insurance after being laid off (This was America after all - Land of the free and now desperately poor).  No savings, no job and no way to pay their mortgages. Many ended up selling the very homes they shed blood and tears to purchase. That and they drained whatever retirement funds they accumulated to that point just to put food on the table. The American dream had turned into a brutish nightmare.

I could relate to many of them. My story was eerily similar to some. So, instead of rehashing any of their interviews I figure I could share mine.

I was laid off Friday, June 26, 2009 - The day after Michael Jackson died. I remember driving home in a state of shock after the morning meeting and hearing on the radio that he had just passed away. The whole situation was so very surreal.

I had been working for my company since the summer of 1988. I had it in my mind it would be my summer job after completing my first year of Graphic Design at George Brown College. Little did I know I'd still be there some 21 years later.

Back then we were privately owned by the Francis family. Bill Francis founded the Ontario version of Auto Trader. His son, John, succeeded him after he retired.

At the end of 2005 Yellow Pages Group (YPG) bought Auto Trader (Trader Corporation) from the Francis family for $436 million ($135 in cash, the rest in stocks). That was the beginning of the end for most Trader employees.

Shortly after announcing there would be no layoffs the layoffs began. It was a complete shock at first. After all, through thick and thin, the Francis' never let anyone go. We were a family back then and were treated as such.

After the first wave of layoffs people began to settle down. But, then it happened again. And again. And again.

We noticed a pattern. The people who had been around the longest (and therefore were earning the most) started disappearing first.

I suppose I was pretty lucky. I lasted a whole 3-1/2 years after the initial takeover. But, on that fateful day back in 2009 I was let go along with one of my co-workers, Dawn, with whom I worked on our New Homes and Condo Guide magazines and, Steve, who had served with the company for about 28 years. He was one of the longest serving employees there.

I can't remember which one of us was called into the small meeting room first. I just remember meeting with my boss Stefan and an HR lady. I don't even really remember what was said. They gave me a envelope with some papers in it. There was a severance package and rules about what I was supposed to do and not supposed to do (like not contacting my friends who still worked there or not revealing how much my severance pay was which I still did anyway).

I was escorted back to my desk by the HR lady to pick up my belongings. Quite a few of my co-workers were shocked and started crying. I have to admit I was sad about that. I had a lot of friends there (though I have to say most of them are now gone due to more aggressive layoffs). That was the worst thing about leaving.

The corporate culture has changed. There is no loyalty from company to employee. It's all about the bottom line. We'll drop you like a hot coal if we can find someone new who is willing to do what you do for half as much. There is a lot of selfishness and greed out there. In a way I can understand it, but I can't say I agree with it.

In the days immediately after being laid off I was sort of in a daze (which is how many people in the book described themselves feeling). After going to work day in and day out for so many years it felt weird being home on a weekday. I sort of felt like I was playing hooky.

Also I was kind of scared. I remember going downtown on the weekend and feeling thirsty at one point. But I was too scared to buy anything to drink because I thought, do I have enough money saved up to dare spend any of it?

Of course, being the frugal person I am, I was financial sound. I don't think I could have actually retired at that point in my life. But I figured I should be able to get by even if I earned minimum wage until retirement age. That lifted a huge weight off my mind.

Still, I couldn't go out and spend money irresponsibly. I had to be a lot more cognizant of my spending habits. There would be no more going out and buying clothes on a semi-regular basis. I'd have to stretch out purchases a little longer. I had to balance my wants versus needs. So those perks were gone. It wasn't a major adjustment, but one I had to make nonetheless.

I have to say I'm a lot luckier than a lot of folks out there (which is scary). Especially the ones in the book. To live with such uncertainty can be debilitating. You can never been too prepared. That's why you have to save, save, save. Because you never know when you might become the next statistic the next time some corporate head honcho decides he want another multi-thousand/multi-million dollar year end bonus.