When I Was Young

BUDGET TAI-TAI

The husband's been retrenched — and they didn't do it kindly

Tabitha Wang, voices@mediacorp.com.sg

IT HAS finally happened. The day had started well. My landlord had offered to lower our rent, I'd just won a plushie on Facebook ... then my husband came back with the dreaded news: He'd been retrenched.

There had been no warning. One moment he was working his heart out, grateful for a job, and the next he was called into the office and told to go. No, not fired — because then they'd have to pay him compensation.

He didn't fit in with the culture, they said — which is a bucketful of horse manure because if that had been the case, they'd have told him that during his annual review. They were simply looking for a chance to trim their budget.

Just like that, he will be out of a job soon. Which leaves us stuck after having cut ties and moved here. Worst, as we didn't see it coming, I didn't go for a full-time position in my office when it came up last year so now there is no job security for me either.

It's all the more worrying, given the figures. That same week, it was announced that Hong Kong's jobless rate is now at its highest in three years and expected to rise to 8 per cent, higher even than during the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

So, I am not optimistic about him finding a job soon.

Just as it had been five years ago, the crisis has shown me who my true friends are. One dropped everything to spend a night with me while my husband was away to make sure I didn't do anything stupid, another invited us to her home for a brainstorming session while numerous others generously shared contacts and job opportunities with us.

The ones who drive me up the wall are those who say: "You think that's bad? Wait till you hear about my life" then go on to complain about something banal like some guy not liking her or kid not doing well at school.

Watch your words

If you meet someone who has lost his job, please don't say:

"How are you today?"
(Just as miserable as yesterday, thank you.)

"Found a job yet?" (What? In two days?)

"Why don't you go to church/temple/synagogue?" (To everything there is a season and this is not it.)

My mum said the right thing: "Come home." But it's not that easy. Singapore also has problems of its own, with its unemployment rate at a four-year high.

As Hong Kong's economy is still faring slightly better than Singapore's, we probably stand a better chance staying put.

Besides, the stories I hear coming from Singapore are equally depressing. One guy, a vice-president in a big firm, was summoned into his boss' room and scolded for bad performance.

That, after 20 years of brilliant appraisals.

The boss kept at him until he agreed to resign. That was the boss' aim all along so that, as in my husband's case, they wouldn't have to pay compensation. The company was still making money and the truth was, the boss wanted to put his own man in that post — the credit crunch was just an excuse.

Never mind that the poor guy had two young kids and that his wife's contract was already not going to be renewed.

In the face of the 2Cs, credit crisis, it seems that employers are missing the third C: Compassion. The worst are opportunists who see the crisis as an excuse to fire even through the firm is still profitable.

So newsflash, employers: When making someone redundant, don't come up with pathetic "it's not me, it's you" excuses like bad performance or not fitting in with company culture. Just tell the real reason: You want him out because well, maybe your mum wasn't married to your dad.

The excuses may help you sleep at night but think about the poor employee who will have to piece back his self-respect before he can look for another job again.

Well, I firmly believe that what comes around, goes around. So, employers, how you treat your staff in these trying times will find a way to get back to you.

The day you lose your job, your hair falls out, your kids turn juvenile delinquents and you have to take up residence with my old friend Mr Loony in the lift lobby, know that your former employees will be queuing up for front-row tickets to your downfall.

Tabitha Wang wants to know if anyone has any openings for an editorial director, financial analyst or business/finance academic.

From TODAYOnline.com; see the source article here.