TIP

4Dear Valued Employee

Brian got up early and arrived at work at 7:30 a.m., anxious to see what the day had in store for him. He wanted to make sure that all of the personal files on his laptop were copied, just in case his departure was immediate. There were no illegal files or things he would need to hide from the company, but he did have a few folders like poems to his wife, a few funny stories he had written for the kids while on the commute back and forth to work. These folders along with everything else would be deleted from the computer, and the laptop would just be issued to someone else. Just like that. Was he really that replaceable? “Quota was the minimum,” Chris had said.

As Brian turned on the computer, he wondered how many people would log on to their own computers and see the e-mail. Would they expect it? Did they have a manager give them the heads up already, or would it come as a complete surprise? He was guessing most would be surprised. Brian did a Google of “RIF” and “fired over e-mail” which turned up a few hits including an article in BusinessWeek about a president of a company who fired 400 people over e-mail. Thoughts of his tenth-grade girlfriend breaking up with him over the phone popped into his head. Coward.

He looked around his small office. Pictures of the kids and Jen everywhere. Inspirational quotes tacked up all over the room. His favorite being from Albert Einstein, who said, “If you are of value to your friends, family, clients, and community, ...