What Does It Feel Like To Be Fired From Facebook
You’re summoned for an HR inquiry, and they ask for your “side of the story.” It’s presumably because they’re legally obliged to inform you what you’re being investigated for (frequently, you don’t know). I didn’t even know I’d broken policy until I was confronted with it in that room.) For the most part, I am pretty confident that it makes no difference or changes the outcome. I’m sure the “Corporate Investigator” knows what will happen in the end, but after chatting with a few acquaintances who had also been dismissed, few come out of this “investigation” unharmed with their jobs intact. I was instructed not to inform anybody, including coworkers, colleagues, and bosses. They anticipate that you will continue without speaking to anybody. You go from feeling so connected to your colleagues, with whom you spend the most of your time, to feeling completely alone. I’m not sure why they don’t let you inform anybody-I suppose it’s “anti-retaliation,” but I wasn’t even permitted to speak with my boss. My HRBP was the only one I was permitted to talk with.
You’re informed you’ll find out shortly – they don’t make it appear like you’re going to be fired at the moment. If you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and believe that Facebook cares about its workers and values them, you’ll think, “but they’ll understand.” They will not. They just don’t care.
Occasionally you find out the same day, and sometimes you find out a few days later. I tried to contact my HRBP throughout this period, but she did not reply to numerous requests for meeting time. I’m not sure whether he/she was just too busy for me or not, or if he/she simply didn’t care, but we were unable to meet. He/she disregarded every message I sent. I had previously contacted him/her about other matters, but he/she had never replied. I’m wondering now whether the HRBP’s only responsibility is to ensure that his or her workers don’t do anything insane and to pick up their belongings once they’ve been dismissed.
On the day of my termination, I meet for the first time with my HRBP, who quickly dismisses me. I never see my team again, and they are still stunned by what occurred. My crew had no idea what was going to happen. There were a number of other dysfunctional procedures that occurred at this time, and after I left, I learned of a number of other egregious firings.
Facebook claims to be attempting to make the world more “open and connected,” yet I have never felt more lonely as I did during this period. There was no way to speak with anybody who had a say in the decision. Your own boss is often excluded from the process. You may work extremely hard and rise up the ranks, but it will not prevent you from being picked off by someone higher up. I’m sure executives close to decision-makers aren’t expected to follow the same rules, but for someone two levels below-if your boss (or, in my case, manager above manager) doesn’t like you. You’ve been kicked out. They’ll discover something is awry.
In the process, there is little to no empathy. If you have a Facebook-sponsored visa, you’re out of luck. You must find a new employment within 30 days or face deportation. They don’t offer to assist you. They do not provide prolonged health care or discuss future references with you. They don’t inquire about family members you must assist.
I had no chance to discuss severance or pay, and none were given to me. I wasn’t prepared to be fired (my fault) and hadn’t done my homework on what to do.
It was one of the most difficult experiences I’d ever experienced. It’s been a while, but I’m getting better. I’ve started a new job. But I still suffer from PTSD as a result of what happened to me on Facebook. Every day, I worry about being fired and hesitate to share anything about my personal life with anybody I work with. I’m afraid it’ll be used against me. It was a sobering and heartbreaking event.
I’m sure Facebook has made a post on the 650,000-view post. I’m sure that was many people’s initial impression of how FB’s firing system works. I’m sure they’ll dismiss it, maybe even making the person who wrote it seem like the bad guy. I’m sure they’ll say something along the lines of “You’d better believe we take firing seriously. No one is dismissed lightly “.. They may even claim it was a worst-case scenario. But, as I’m sure everyone at Facebook is aware, it’s all nonsense. They are uninterested in you. They don’t care how hard you work; all they worry about is money in their pockets and their own continual advancement.
Last but not the least
As with any problems at Facebook, the executives will make employees feel better-artificially boost morale without making adjustments since it benefits them-until everyone forgets.
