I will begin this rant by saying my confidence in this company I work for is waning. First of all, what kind of people promote the new girl to Senior Manager? I mean…ok, I’m not as new as I used to be. I’ve gotten the hang of things, but there are many talented people who have been there longer than I have! Why me?? I didn’t ask for more responsibility! I just want a check. That’s it! Is my work really that impeccable? I’m doubtful. Honestly? I think I they set me up! My FIRST order of business post promotion was to make a HUGE decision. The CEO said we needed to take drastic measures in order to hit our financial targets this year and gave me two options: cut bonuses or close an underperforming branch. It was a lose-lose situation. Either the entire company got upset with me for missing out on a sum of money, or an entire building of people lost their jobs right before the holidays. This dilemma was super messed up, but I had to admit its brilliance. Think about it. Promote someone inexperienced, stir up some drama, and then blame it on her. It’s genius!
I got so many calls and emails mere minutes after sending out a company-wide email stating the situation and explaining why there won’t be a bonus this year. My thought process was methodical and thorough. The company had a cash flow problem and needed a quick fix. But people need their jobs, especially now, right before the holiday season. Besides, closing a branch wouldn’t be the quick solution they hoped for because of severance pay, unemployment, and selling the building. Nixing the bonuses would be faster and more reliable because they could calculate exactly how much money they would save. And people could keep their jobs. I thought it was a no-brainer, but the common sentiment of the angry messages was I punished the entire company because of one branch’s lack of ambition. In theory, I understood what they meant, but where is the compassion in that? I should sack an entire building full of people because they’re not performing? During one of the most critical times of the year? I think we need to investigate further and figure out why they aren’t doing well and help fix the problem. Maybe just a handful of employees need to go, not the whole building. But now I’m the bad guy. Those sons of llamas upstairs better pray I remain complacent in this role because if I ever decide to advance, I’m coming for every single one of them!
