by Margaret McFee DOWNSIZED AND OUT Published December 5, 1996	"This is very hard for me to say..." You walk into the boss's office, close the door as he's motioned you to do, and then...you hear those words. Conceivably, he/she could end it right there. You know what's coming next. Those eight words are used together so rarely. And usually, more often than not, they are followed by "but I'm going to have to let you go." You've just been downsized. Laid off. Axed. Released. Terminated. As American business climbs toward a new horizon of technology-driven prosperity, the American workforce is finding itself being reorganized. Usually without its consent or consultation. This shuffling comes about in the form of downsizing. What this (my) generation's parents would have called "getting fired." Computers were supposed to revolutionize business. Smarter business strategy fueled by technology was theorized to streamline and make the workforce super-productive. Everyone waited for this overnight miracle to happen. It didn't. At least not overnight. Like anything of an evolutionary nature, change in business takes time. And, often, it goes unnoticed until one stops and realizes that something has happened or is somehow different from "how it used to be."
Evolution has brought its steamroller into our lives and summarily flattened us.	For many, including myself, this change is not so stealthy and plodding. It hits us smack in the face like the whip of a wet towel. Or a speeding train. We suddenly find ourselves jobless and blinking; a deer mesmerized by the headlights. Evolution has brought its steamroller into our lives and summarily flattened us. As I write this, it is roughly eight hours since I found out I was being downsized. A job I used to relish and attend with fervor and zeal...is gone. Unlike many, I know why and understand the rationale behind my lay-off. But, that makes it no less painful or crushing. The fact that I, were I in my boss's place, would have done the same thing makes it no easier to swallow. In fourteen days I will be unemployed. In fourteen days my job will cease to exist. Someone else (or in this particular case, no one else) will sit at my desk, type on my keyboard, or fidget with my computer's idiosyncrasies. And I cannot tell my friends, family, or significant other how I am going to manage once that final paycheck comes in. The hulking gait of evolution in the workplace seems slow from the inside. But, for those caught in its path, it is very swift and methodical. How to Find the Door In many ways I have furthered the demise of my job. And, I fear, the same is true for many others out there. In my case, I have made it possible for my employer to dispose of me by being good at what I do and doing things for the greater good. I've made it easy for him to let me go. To whit... My highly irregular position involved two distinct aspects -- networking (of the computer variety) and accounting (of the boring variety). My company could not afford a dedicated system administrator, yet it had a need for someone on-site. And, they needed an accounting/finance person. I was recommended to them as someone with both qualifications and hired almost immediately. In the course of my employment I performed upgrades on the network's hardware and tried to bullet-proof the OS and software.
Sometimes the final reward for a job well-done is a pat on the back and an escort to the door.	A bullet-proof (or very close to it) network doesn't need much baby-sitting. Which, of course leaves more time to clean and straighten the accounting side. My job has gone from a constant four-alarm fire to a steady and easier day-to-day pace. There are still plenty of fires, they're just much more contained than before. And, embracing technology as we have, we kept finding new and more efficient tools to help us in our tasks. One such new tool -- software as it happens -- will help my company streamline and economize its staff and time. It will make the accounting and financial work more automated and cohesive. So, how can my employer justify a SysAdmin for a network that runs itself? And, now that that messy finance data will be easier to manage and require less attention...can't some of that work be spread out among the other staff? Sometimes the final reward for a job well-done is a pat on the back and an escort to the door. But, that's business. And bottom-line reality. Surf, Swim, or Float At this point, I'm expected to make a cohesive and packaged summation. But that is easier said than done. I am not bitter, so I cannot rant nor rave about this "injustice." I am not incensed nor am I angry. I understand and sympathize with my (soon to be former) employer. My company is enduring the hardest financial situation it has faced in some time. Drastic measures are called for. And trimming expenses has become an absolute necessity for its survival (if, in fact, survival is even possible). If I were asked to sum up my recent "release" from work, I think it would go like this: "Business in the Western Hemisphere is changing. Indeed, technology is beginning to alter more and more of our daily lives. For some time to come we will have to ride this crest and do our best to settle on dry (or at least dry-ish) land. The wave of change is not an evil thing. It is a necessary force in the evolution of our society. It is our job to keep from drowning." So, you see, I still have a job. Lifeguard. Margaret McFee is a computer consultant, aspiring artist, and self-professed geek currently residing in Seattle, WA. She is presently seeking technical work that does NOT include her accounting background. © 1996 Margaret McFee, All Rights Reserved.