Too many careers end badly

The messages usually come on a Friday afternoon. Report to Human Resources as soon as possible.

That's where hard-working people who have given XYZ Corp. a huge chunk of their lives, intellect and passion sit across a desk from someone who tells them it's all over, suddenly, just like that.

The shock of being laid off keeps them from hearing the details. Some get severance packages, a few months' pay, a chance to keep their health insurance and a disingenuous handshake.

Most must surrender their ID cards and keys immediately. Many aren't even allowed to return to their desk to say goodbye.

Some are escorted out of the building like criminals. They can clean out their office on Saturday, when nobody is around to see the carnage, the pain and the embarrassment.

That's how too many careers end these days. Few get to finish on their own terms. A sad commentary on what jobs used to mean in this country.

Gold watches

Believe it or not, there was a time when people signed on with a company and worked there for 40 years. At the end of that dedicated service came a nice pension, a gold watch, a ceremonial rocking chair and a dozen golf balls.

But times have changed.

Today's college graduates probably will have six or seven careers before they retire.

Not six or seven jobs.

Six or seven different careers.

The concept of giving your heart and soul to one company is no longer viable. The days of company picnics and bowling teams are gone.

For one thing, the company probably won't be around that long. It will morph into a subset of subsidiaries, be bought out by a conglomerate or simply disappear overnight.

And, in the new world order, people don't want to be tied to one organization that long. Mobility is the new byword.

Loyalty, for what it was worth, has evaporated on both sides of the equation.

Lily pads

The recession is taking a toll on retirement parties. Millions are being laid off with no hope of being recalled.

People who thought they were safe are not. Those who thought they could make it to the finish line might not.

Careers are ending badly. Bitterness replaces best wishes. People feel betrayed, rejected, unappreciated and not valued.

To head off this inevitability, we all need to consider the lily pad approach. While you're still working on this lily pad, start looking around for another one to jump to.

Use your current connections to prepare a place to land. Just in case. We all know it's easier to find a job when you've got a job.

Don't be naïve to reality. Things have changed. Don't be blinded by devotion. Business has no soul.

And don't feel bad about flirting with frogs on the next lily pad. While it's good to hope for the best, you darned well better prepare for the worst.

That's what your boss is doing.

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or 937-5598. To read previous columns, go here.