Inevitable

Some news from the Sun-Sentinel.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. notified about 400 workers by e-mail that they were being dismissed immediately as part of planned job cuts.

Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters got messages Tuesday morning saying: ``The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated.''

Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday's notification on a company intranet site.

Derrick D'Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, said he had never heard of such a large number of terminated employees being notified electronically. He said it could be seen as dehumanizing to employees.

``If I put myself in their shoes, I'd say, 'Didn't they have a few minutes to tell me?''' D'Souza said.

Laid-off workers got one to three weeks pay for each year of service, up to 16 weeks for hourly employees and 36 weeks for those with base bay of at least $90,000, the company said.

Is there ever a right way to tell an employee they are being let go? Employers are people too and find firings necessary but also both uncomfortable and when delivering the news tense situations. Simply for the fact that you never know how an employee will act.

Firing a person by email is impersonal, but I can also see why some companies will do it. For it avoids a confrontation. It still doesn't prevent an employee still with access to company property from retalliating in some way.

Not all that long ago I was fired from a job. I took a job in retail for some extra cash.(Tax and bookkeeping work is not always lucrative for me. Some years are better or worse) than others) My supervisor was a real jackass, the pay wasn't very good nor were the hours. I had a confrontation with my supervisor at the end of a shift. When I came back the next day I was told I was being let go. It didn't surprise me, I calmly said what I had to say to the human resources manager.(My supervisor wasn't there) I feel no great loss, my leaving that employer was inevitable because the work enviorment was just impossible. For in addition to my jackass supervisor, The HR person at this store was a liar.

If anything bugged me that day, it was the 20 mile round-trip drive I made to that store. I told HR she could have told me on the phone and saved me the trip. An email wouldn't have bothered me either. Technology like emails have become prevalent today, that employee news had to start being delivered that way. Doing firings or lay-offs in such a fashion was only inevitable.

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Cao's Blog,
Update- Strange Women lying in Ponds and Captain's Quarters are also discussing this news.