Fishy Practices in the Office... And Then I Got Laid Off
Last Friday 2nd June was my Mum's birthday. We got her a nice little cake and had a mini celebration. It was nice to get a smile on her face these days.
Unfortunately, it was also the day that I was given a notice of termination by my company, a local Singaporean company, with a month's notice. Reason being: My projects were ending with no follow-ups lined up.
It is true that my research projects were ending. One of them ends right about the time just before my notice period ends. The other one ends 3 months later. So, I didn't really find anything fishy there. From a business point of view, bottomline is important. I get that.
However, the... manner... surrounding this termination, doesn't feel right. Just a few weeks earlier, I signed an amendment to my employment contract to reduce the termination notice from 2 to 1 month. And less than a month later, BOOM... YOU'RE FIRED!
As I found out, I wasn't the only one to sign the amended contract. Almost everyone did.
And as I also found out, I wasn't the only one fired. Several others met the same fate, for various reasons.
In early May, my company moved into new premises at Changi Business Park (CBP). The previous one was getting too small. It was a fancy office in a nice building.
One of the nice features of the new office was a clock-in system. The company could monitor what time each and every employee came in/out of office. And they certainly put it to good use.
Very soon after, the company started to insist on punctuality (officially we start at 9am). Late-comers
were given emails demanding an explanation. Personally, I received one of these emails for coming in at 9:25am (If you work at CBP, you'd know the long wait at Tanah Merah MRT station, or the traffic jams from TPE, Changi Road North, all the way to CBP).
Now, we had just moved from Bendemeer Road... to CBP. That's halfway across the island. Can't we be allowed a transition period? Furthermore, never in my 1.5 years with the company, did I hear any complaints, about anyone, for coming in late.
The clock-in system was even used to withhold payment to part-timers. Did anyone even told the part-timers to clock-in?
It was during this time that I started to learn of colleagues being fired, told to leave with immediate effect. I was told the reason was poor performance, or something along those lines. It was one, then two more, then a couple of resignations.
By the time I was told to go, around seven persons had left or were leaving.
One of my teammates was also asked to go. We weren't surprised. The writing was already on the wall. Too many signs that something was very, very wrong.
Since that day, last Friday 2nd June, I learnt of a few more colleagues who were asked to leave, for no seemingly good reason. The more I learnt, the more disgusted I felt.
It is interesting to note that my direct boss (CTO) and ex-boss (now COO), both had no idea that CEO has fired me. My boss told me that he had actually made post-project plans for my team, and my CEO was made aware of these plans.
So it seems that the root of the problem, is at the very top management. And yes, I mean the CEO.
Here is the man leading the company to new heights. Yet he leads by fear, not inspiration. I mean, in this day and age, a technology company being led by... fear? scare tactics?
The irony is that we just had an opening ceremony last week for the new office. The new office in Vietnam also attended via video conference. Yup, they've got a lot of engineers in Vietnam now. Healthy internal competition? That's the real question...
For me, I was a little taken aback at being fired so soon. I was thinking September since that's when my main project ends. Other than that, saw it coming at least a week ago. Even told my team to get ready for it.
What I'm a little sore at though, is that they made us sign the amended contract to reduce the termination notice period, just before termination. It's certainly premeditated. And it's wrong. It would have given affected employees an extra month to make adjustments. That makes a lot of difference for some.
One of my teammate who wasn't affected, made a good point: staying isn't necessarily better.
A CEO or any leader, who doesn't care about his workers, is out to exploit them, is not fit to lead, is doomed to fail.
All in all, I estimate that around 20% of staff before CBP has been affected. Probably more to come as several colleagues I talked to, were quite affected by the situation, considering or already making plans to leave.
My Mum does not yet know that I've been fired. Don't want her to worry. Hopefully I'll land a new job quick and then I'll tell her and all my relatives and their sons+daughters+friends to avoid this company and the CEO...
Unfortunately, it was also the day that I was given a notice of termination by my company, a local Singaporean company, with a month's notice. Reason being: My projects were ending with no follow-ups lined up.
It is true that my research projects were ending. One of them ends right about the time just before my notice period ends. The other one ends 3 months later. So, I didn't really find anything fishy there. From a business point of view, bottomline is important. I get that.
However, the... manner... surrounding this termination, doesn't feel right. Just a few weeks earlier, I signed an amendment to my employment contract to reduce the termination notice from 2 to 1 month. And less than a month later, BOOM... YOU'RE FIRED!
As I found out, I wasn't the only one to sign the amended contract. Almost everyone did.
And as I also found out, I wasn't the only one fired. Several others met the same fate, for various reasons.
In early May, my company moved into new premises at Changi Business Park (CBP). The previous one was getting too small. It was a fancy office in a nice building.
One of the nice features of the new office was a clock-in system. The company could monitor what time each and every employee came in/out of office. And they certainly put it to good use.
Very soon after, the company started to insist on punctuality (officially we start at 9am). Late-comers
were given emails demanding an explanation. Personally, I received one of these emails for coming in at 9:25am (If you work at CBP, you'd know the long wait at Tanah Merah MRT station, or the traffic jams from TPE, Changi Road North, all the way to CBP).
Now, we had just moved from Bendemeer Road... to CBP. That's halfway across the island. Can't we be allowed a transition period? Furthermore, never in my 1.5 years with the company, did I hear any complaints, about anyone, for coming in late.
The clock-in system was even used to withhold payment to part-timers. Did anyone even told the part-timers to clock-in?
It was during this time that I started to learn of colleagues being fired, told to leave with immediate effect. I was told the reason was poor performance, or something along those lines. It was one, then two more, then a couple of resignations.
By the time I was told to go, around seven persons had left or were leaving.
One of my teammates was also asked to go. We weren't surprised. The writing was already on the wall. Too many signs that something was very, very wrong.
Since that day, last Friday 2nd June, I learnt of a few more colleagues who were asked to leave, for no seemingly good reason. The more I learnt, the more disgusted I felt.
It is interesting to note that my direct boss (CTO) and ex-boss (now COO), both had no idea that CEO has fired me. My boss told me that he had actually made post-project plans for my team, and my CEO was made aware of these plans.
So it seems that the root of the problem, is at the very top management. And yes, I mean the CEO.
Here is the man leading the company to new heights. Yet he leads by fear, not inspiration. I mean, in this day and age, a technology company being led by... fear? scare tactics?
The irony is that we just had an opening ceremony last week for the new office. The new office in Vietnam also attended via video conference. Yup, they've got a lot of engineers in Vietnam now. Healthy internal competition? That's the real question...
For me, I was a little taken aback at being fired so soon. I was thinking September since that's when my main project ends. Other than that, saw it coming at least a week ago. Even told my team to get ready for it.
What I'm a little sore at though, is that they made us sign the amended contract to reduce the termination notice period, just before termination. It's certainly premeditated. And it's wrong. It would have given affected employees an extra month to make adjustments. That makes a lot of difference for some.
One of my teammate who wasn't affected, made a good point: staying isn't necessarily better.
A CEO or any leader, who doesn't care about his workers, is out to exploit them, is not fit to lead, is doomed to fail.
All in all, I estimate that around 20% of staff before CBP has been affected. Probably more to come as several colleagues I talked to, were quite affected by the situation, considering or already making plans to leave.
My Mum does not yet know that I've been fired. Don't want her to worry. Hopefully I'll land a new job quick and then I'll tell her and all my relatives and their sons+daughters+friends to avoid this company and the CEO...
take care, hope you get a new job soon and make more in your investment.
ReplyDeleteThanks!! I have sent out a few applications already. Hope it works out.
DeleteKeep investing!!