[American life under the epidemic] It's time to come, furlough (unpaid leave)

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With the further development of the epidemic, major wholesale/retail companies in the United States are facing unprecedented losses. Although companies have maximized cancellations, frozen open headcount, and saved various expenses, they still have to make difficult choices.

More and more companies have been laying off workers or taking unpaid leave indefinitely. We also all know it's only a matter of time before the companies we work for make a similar move. I just didn't expect it to come so soon!

Colleagues have been discussing what decisions our company will make lately. As a department head, I can only tell everyone not to worry about things beyond their control, but to keep working hard and do your job well.

On Thursday, I still asked my boss directly if he had received instructions from higher up in the company. He said no, and he didn't think it would affect our team. He believes that if the company wants to lay off employees or something, it must start from other departments, after all, our department is already very streamlined. When I got off work that afternoon, I received an invitation from the general manager to invite all employees to attend an all-staff meeting early on Friday morning. My heart immediately began to feel uneasy, but I didn't dare to think too much.

When it came to the meeting on Friday morning, the general manager first told everyone that the company had taken some measures to reduce losses; then she told everyone solemnly: In this case, the company still had to make a difficult decision and asked some employees to start implementing it. furlough (unpaid leave). All affected employees will receive a personnel email immediately after the meeting, and then she and the department head will have a zoom meeting with the affected employees one by one to explain the details and answer questions. She said this decision was the first time she had met since she was working, and it was a very difficult choice. She also said that those who were not affected would be called for another meeting later in the afternoon.

The meeting time is very short, just a few minutes. Immediately after the meeting, I received a call from my direct supervisor. He explained to me that when he told me on Thursday, he was completely unaware of the decision. He was also told very late. At the same time he told me that unfortunately there were people in our department who were affected, but the list was not selected by him. This time, all the affected lists are selected by the general manager himself, which reduces the difficulty of the department head's decision. At the same time, he asked me if I would like to participate in a communication meeting with affected employees in my department. Although he said I could choose not to participate, I decided to participate as a show of respect for the support of members of my department.

furlough has never been encountered before. It's just that I've seen more and more companies furlough their employees these days that I've come to understand what exactly that means. furlough means unpaid leave. During furlough, the employee is still an employee of the company. Only, there is no salary. However, companies will continue to pay for their health insurance. This is not the same as layoffs. If you are laid off, you will leave after receiving the compensation and say goodbye to the company. While furlough, the employee's medical insurance company will continue to pay, which is very important for employees. Moreover, employees can also go to the government to receive unemployment benefits during this time. As long as the epidemic is under control and the economy improves, the company will still invite everyone back to work as soon as possible. Therefore, our company let these employees continue to keep their computers. It's just that their computer accounts are automatically locked as "out of office, unable to reply or forward any emails, and let the sender go directly to a substitute for processing" when they get off work on Friday. The substitute here is usually the head of the department.

During the one on one meeting, the general manager explained furlough in detail to the affected employees. And repeatedly stressed that this is only temporary. As long as the company's business is good, the company will immediately invite them back to work. Most people's time is 4 months. A few are 2 months, and they are staggered to ensure that the business can proceed normally. The affected employees all behaved professionally and understandingly. Everyone also understands why the company made such a decision. What a heartbreaking meeting.

At noon, the unaffected employees received a meeting invitation from the general manager, requesting a meeting at 5 pm. Counting the number of attendees in the morning and noon, it was nearly half off. At the meeting in the evening, the general manager told everyone the list of affected persons and the implementation of their unpaid leave by department. At the same time, he hoped that those who stayed would work together to overcome this difficult time and do better work. Welcome the return of furloughed colleagues. She also told everyone about the impact of other brands of the company. And, this time, the impact is global. Next week it will be Asia's turn for big changes. Many Asian countries do not have a furlough system, and it is estimated that they can only lay off workers. This move will be very big, I can only pray that my colleagues are okay...

Our company's move quickly spread in the industry. Many friends have texted and called to greet me to see if I have been affected. It was only after we chatted that we realized that other companies did the same. Some companies even opt for outright layoffs. The number of unemployed people in the United States in the past two weeks has reached 10 million, and it is estimated that there will be more and more in the next two weeks. The longer the pandemic drags on, the more people around the world will lose their jobs. The more inestimable the loss. The post-pandemic recovery period will also be longer. All I can do now is really just pray...