Either justified or not.
That their formal complaints, lobbying the leader's boss or rallying other employees led to the leader's eventual downfall. Often after that employee has already been pushed out in retaliation but that their efforts put enough political blood in the water against that leader.
Usually an employee that was already high strung or volatile.
Possibly an angry outburst in the termination meeting.
Running back to their work area and causing a scene.
Storming out of the room immediately, before the meeting was completed.
Simply refusing to leave / not psychologically processing the termination.
Due to life circumstances bringing you back such as:
But then you remembered all the reasons you left in the first place.
Leading you to want to bounce again, even to the place you just left.
When what the company/executives say is usually very different than the eventual outcome. And that as a manager you now have enough seniority to decipher them.
Some examples:
"We are bringing in a junior helper so that you can work on more strategic initiatives" -> You will be terminated as soon as they are up to speed on your tasks.
"John Doe Director of Operations is moving to a special projects role to leverage their deep expertise" -> We don't know what to do with them and they are too expensive/high risk/politically connected to terminate. Hoping they take the hint and resign.
"We don't anticipate any layoffs and your role is safe anyways" -> Dust off that resume because the axe is coming for you soon.
"We fully support Jane Doe on her personal leave" -> Her role has already been restructured/backfilled and we will terminate her quietly shortly after she returns.
"You are just too important to ever lose so please accept this generous counteroffer and reject that external offer" -> We can't afford to have a vacancy gap in your role but this just buys time to line up your replacement so we can terminate you comfortably on our schedule now.
"We are democratizing <specialized skillset (data analysis, project management, change management, comms, instructional design) > so that all can leverage it" -> The specialists in this niche will be let go and everyone will be expected to figure out this skillset on their own time.
"We are doubling down on <embattled initiative> -> It's in the process of being winded down but we can't admit it yet.
When what the company or bosses say is usually the exact opposite of the future outcome.
Some examples:
"We are bringing in a junior helper so that you can work on more strategic initiatives" -> You will be terminated as soon as they are up to speed on your tasks.
"John Doe Director of Operations is moving to a special projects role to leverage their deep expertise" -> We don't know what to do with them and they are too expensive/high risk/politically connected to terminate. Hoping they take the hint and resign.
"We don't anticipate any layoffs and your role is safe anyways" -> Dust off that resume because the axe is coming for you soon.
"We fully support Jane Doe on her personal leave" -> Her role has already been restructured/backfilled and we will terminate her quietly shortly after she returns.
"You are just too important to ever lose so please accept this generous counteroffer and reject that external offer" -> We can't afford to have a vacancy gap in your role but this just buys time to line up your replacement so we can terminate you comfortably on our schedule now.
"We are democratizing <specialized skillset (data analysis, project management, change management, comms, instructional design) > so that all can leverage it" -> The specialists in this niche will be let go and everyone will be expected to figure out this skillset on their own time.
That a new employee you hired is likely to throw in the towel in the first 90 days.
Contributing factors seem to be:
They join a department already in chaos.
They have to jump into the hotseat of a busy job right away.
They find out that nobody wanted this job/has a long history of turnover.
No one is available to do deep training with them.
The job market for them is hot so they can feel confident in finding another job.
Especially the ones that do it privately in a direct way instead of through an externally managed foundation.
Keanu Reeves
When what the company or bosses say is usually the exact opposite of the future outcome.
Some examples:
"We are bringing in a helper so that you can work on more strategic initiatives" -> You will be terminated as soon as they are up to speed on your tasks.
"John Doe Director of Operations is moving to a special projects role to leverage their deep expertise" -> We don't know what to do with them and they are expensive to terminate. Hoping they take the hint and resign.
"We don't anticipate any layoffs and they won't start with your role anyways" -> Dust off that resume because the axe is coming for you soon.
"We fully support Jane Doe on her personal leave" -> Her role has already been restructured and we will terminate her once her leave ends.
"We can't afford to lose you so please accept this counteroffer" -> We are just buying time to line up your replacement so we can terminate you on our schedule.
When what the company or bosses say is usually the exact opposite of the future outcome.
Some examples:
"We are bringing in a helper so that you can work on more strategic initiatives" -> You will be terminated as soon as they are up to speed on your tasks.
"John Doe Director of Operations is moving to a special projects role to leverage their deep expertise" -> We don't know what to do with them and they are expensive to terminate. Hoping they take the hint and resign.
"We don't anticipate any layoffs and they won't start with your role anyways" -> Dust off that resume because the axe is coming for you soon.
"We fully support Jane Doe on her personal leave" -> She isn't coming back to her old role and we will terminate her once her leave ends.
"We can't afford to lose you so please accept this counteroffer" -> We are just buying time to line up your replacement so we can terminate you on our schedule.
Because it's unproductive but also a painful reminder of your age by remembering all the things you've gone through.