A Trip to the Conference Room

I remember the trip to the conference room vividly. It is etched in my mind. I had even anticipated the trip. I knew that the top boss was going to have to make some personnel cuts. My own boss and I had discussed it so many times and had agreed that we would much rather move people around to jobs that fit them better than consider letting anyone go. We had even thoroughly diagrammed each possible scenario and my boss took our recommendations to the top boss for consideration.

The phone rang next to me. I glanced at the small desk clock beside the phone that I had been given eight years before for my contribution on a team whose project ended up saving the company a great deal of money. I prided myself on doing exemplary work and each year when I met with the top boss to discuss my performance, I always walked away very proud of the work I’d done. The clock sat there as a reminder of what it felt like to be successful.

It was eleven o’clock. The telephone ID screen displayed the phone number of my boss. I picked up the receiver.

“Byron would like you and Mary to meet us in Conference Room B50 in 10 minutes,” he said.

I glanced through the window of my cubicle to the other side of the bay where Mary, the other Team Leader, was sitting. She was on the phone too, perhaps getting the same call from her direct boss. She looked up in my direction and I smiled at her. Moments later she appeared in my doorway.

“So what do you think this is all about?” she asked.

“Oh, I think they are finally going to reveal to us what they’ve decided to do,” I replied with confidence. “I’m sure they’ve reviewed all of our recommendations and they’ve finally made some well-needed decisions.”

We chatted for a few more minutes. Then I picked up a pad of paper to take notes on and we headed to the conference room. When we arrived, both of our bosses, the top boss, and the Human Resources Rep were already there.

The conference room was purposefully very mundane and non-descript with a large table in the center, a white board up on the wall on one end and a wall of windows overlooking the pond on the other. I swung the door shut behind us and Mary and I took the empty seats on opposite sides of the table between the top boss and our bosses.

There was the usual small-talk about families and the weather. Everyone seemed relaxed and yet there was a tension in the air. I could feel it. Here I was, anticipating all the work I’d done with my boss to be brought to fruition… but something seemed just a little bit off. I looked at the face of each person, trying to anticipate what was going to be said, but no one would look me in the eye. When I’d catch them looking, they’d glance away. Something was just not right.

Finally the top boss decided it was time to get down to business.

“As you know, we’ve been reviewing the personnel in our department. With all the changes that are going to be coming down the line by the end of the year, it has become evident that we are being forced to make some very difficult decisions.”

I smiled. Yes, this is exactly what I knew was going to happen. I wasn’t really happy that some people might have to be let go, but I could see that our group was too large and there were some who were not pulling their weight. His statement was just no surprise to me. He continued.

“The hard thing is that the people we are going to have to involve in these changes are people we respect and trust. But the fact is there just is no other way. Believe me, this is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make….”

Mary and I were looked at him intently waiting for the names of our teammates to be said out loud. Which ones would it be? You could see that he was terribly uncomfortable so I wished that he would just say the names and get it over with!

“Unfortunately, the two people that we are going to have to let go are …… you two….”

There was a stunned silence in the room that seemed to last for a very long time.

“Us??” I asked in shock. “I don’t understand…” I looked over at Mary and her face was white as a sheet.

“You see,” he stammered, “you both are very close to your official retirement and we are more than willing to bridge you to retirement plus we are willing to offer a very good severance package!”

Mary and I stared at each other as if neither of us could believe what we’d just heard. It made no sense to us at all. We were the hard workers, the dedicated and responsible employees, not the lazy, poor workers who so deserved to go!

In the following weeks, it became much clearer why that decision was made but the reason didn’t really matter. It was a done deal. I numbly signed the papers that would sever my employment after 30 years with the company. I’d always wondered what the last weeks of work would feel like and really, it was almost like walking around in a dream. As I cleaned out my office, I gave things to people that I thought they would like to have, I threw away an awful lot of stuff that I had accumulated over the years, and I took home pictures and other personal things. It was surreal.

On my final day, the group had a party at the office in my honor. Yes, in a conference room. There were many people who attended. A number of people stood up and said nice things, including the top boss who also presented me with a gift they’d all pitched in to get for me. After thanking everyone for the party and saying “good-byes,” I stepped out through the double doors with my gifts and cards and flowers in hand.

Suddenly I was overtaken with a feeling I’d never had before. It took a few minutes to realize what it was. This was what freedom felt like! FREEDOM!! The air smelled different and the trees looked greener and I had a smile on my face. I thought I’d be sad to let go of something that had been a part of me for so long. But I was wrong. After all those years, the company finally gave me what I’d dreamed about for so long....FREEDOM!