Jeffrey Gabbard

When I signed that job confirmation letter twenty years ago and promised not to cheat on my new employer by working for any other companies, I just assumed that loyalty went both ways. But as comedian Chris Rock once said, “a man is only as faithful as his options.” And sometimes you realize companies are the same way. 

After twenty years with my company, I should have seen the layoff coming. The signs were there, but I’d been through these things before and thought I’d be lucky this time too. 

What are the signs that your company just isn’t that into you anymore? Well, for one thing, you’ll notice everyone else getting invited to meetings that they somehow “forgot” to invite you to. You’ll also see people huddled in hallways having ‘whispered’ conversations that stop as soon as you walk up. Then it’s all, “Oh hey Jeff, how’s it going? How are the kids?” 

And they’ll start assigning projects to other people.  I mean. They assigned that software upgrade project to Todd? Todd the QAnon dude that swears he had brunch with JFK, Jr. yesterday. That guy? Are you kidding me? 

But the kicker was my twentieth work anniversary gift. For my fifth anniversary, I got a $100 gift card. My tenth anniversary was a nice wall clock. My twentieth-anniversary gift was a cupcake. For real! Everyone with a work anniversary was invited to the breakroom and we were each handed a cupcake and received an awkward handshake from the CIO. Nothing says “I’m thankful for your years of dedicated service” like a cupcake. 

I finally accepted what was coming when I found out that my company had been traveling overseas and found another company in India they just couldn’t stop talking about. I gave them the 20 best years of my life, and this is how it ends? 

On my last day, there was some legal paperwork to sign, equipment to turn in, and goodbyes to be said. Then I took a couple of weeks to get myself together before deciding to get back out there. I realized that I’m still fairly young and have a lot to offer. There are plenty of companies in the sea. But next time – no prenups.