the worst thing he did in his life
Over a year ago I passed a colleague sat alone on a bench about a minute away from the office, staring into space. It was a little past 9am. He said
Going into the office is the worst thing I do in my life. It's the worst thing. It's horrible.
At that time we had recently been taken over and the new management were stripping back personnel. Some departures were by sudden "mutual agreement", others were death by consultation. Legally, mass redundancies must have a one month consultation period where the sackees can make case to the sackers about how their job is required, or if there's another role available. Of course, the employer's mind is already made up, so what ensues is one month's extra pay for angry, scared or dejected employees to turn up to the office to complain about the company. The guy sat on the bench was a contract worker so personally unaffected, but he was right, the atmosphere in the office was horrible.
Wind forward to now and not much has changed. Banks of six desks now have five unoccupied and management have stopped visiting to tell us how important we are. The fourth wave of redundancies is currently going forth, so that there'll be less than a third of us left. The future of the office is obvious: the writing is on very the wall that has recently been painted from the old brand's two vibrant colours to one block of dull grey. So many had worked here for more than a decade. Some know of nothing else. The ones who are left talk daily of how bad it is, as we receive email updates sent to all employees that a food truck is outside "the office". It's inferred that the office in question is not ours.
I somehow managed to escape the redundancies and I was asked if I'd mind making the three hour trek to head office once a fortnight. I said
no problem, I could do that.
but my notice was handed in a week later. My last day is next week so on days like tomorrow I will be go into the office. I'll get on with my tasks, maybe take a call, but mainly play pool with other leavers-in-waiting. To be honest, it's not the worst thing I do in my life, but it's a very slow and painful countdown to the end of a era.
Sorry for the clickbait title, but the quote is verbatim. It's a memorable thing to hear.