I was best friends with a colleague where our relationship began my first day of employment. She was the first to introduce herself to me and at that point, I knew I had made a friend.

We would often have lunch together and talk about relationships, family etc. I was there for her through her relationship hardships, wedding, more hardships. She also relocated to New Jersey for a promotion and I felt as though I lost my best friend. However, I was happy for her. We reconnected at her wedding and stayed in touch for years even though we worked at different sites but at the same company.

Several years passed and the group reorganized several times. In early 2009, I found out that I would be reporting in to her but there would eventually be a manager hired who would be my boss. For several months, we had individual meetings together but it was difficult that she was my interim boss. I could not break the barrier from friendship to manager, it was quite difficult.

As the group and work progressed, we soon reorged again and I was told that I would be promoted by her and a consultant. The evening before the announcement, she called to tell me who the manager would be, and it was not me. I was clearly disappointed.

Over the next several months, lots of inequities in workload and behavior had inhibited our group and lots of rumors about layoffs. The consultant that was hired over me even told me that there would be layoffs and he was worried for me. I was a bit in disbelief and unsure if it was going to be me or not since I had alot responsibility and experience, I thought it was unlikely.

Then on that dreaded day, I came into work, the day there were going to be layoffs. I had a 15 minute meeting on my calendar with an office number. I immediately looked up the number and found that it was in Human Resources and the person in attendance would be her, my friend, my colleague.

I walked into the room and she was there sitting in the back of the room. She said, “Your job has been eliminated and your last day of employment would be December 31, 2010″. I was devastated.

To think a friend, so I thought, would be my demise. It has only been a month but I am still having difficult comprehending all that has transpired. After a 10 year friendship, loyalty to the company and all I have done, I was laid off.

This post was submitted by Lisa.

I was recently laid off from a position that I had held for seven years with a large non-profit. Two years ago, I accepted a promotion to a position within the national office of said organization. My co-workers, most whom worked over 1600 miles away, became not just co-workers but like friends to me.

Two days ago, I was informed that I was being laid off. I received this news not from an HR representative or my supervisor, but from a co-worker. It seems that my impending lay off was water cooler conversation. When I spoke with someone in the HR department, she just stated that this was against the organization’s policy and they were sorry. I am heartbroken not only because of the lay off, but because I feel so betrayed. My confidence and dignity have been destroyed.

This post was submitted by Shelby .

After graduating from college in 2001 with my degree in Graphic Design, I landed a great job with a clothing catalog company. This company hadn’t been around very long, and they needed a graphic designer to help build their catalog up. Of course I was thrilled with the challenge!

I had an amazing boss…the best boss I have ever had. She valued me, and I valued her…it was a wonderful relationship. She wasn’t an Art Director, but the Marketing VP, and we would bounce ideas off each other. She gave me total creativity…it was great!

Through the years, the department grew, and I became the Senior Graphic Designer…I even had an assistant. We worked really well together.

End of Year 7 – my boss and the owner had a falling out. It was quite unfortunate because they were really good friends, and I was surprised that this happened. My boss was so distressed that she quit her job, but then reconsidered and asked for it back, but by then it was too late.

The owner ensured everyone in Marketing that their job was safe as long as we were loyal to him. Of course at that time, the economy was in turmoil and there was no way I was going to leave the job even if I wanted to!

After my boss left, I proved to the owner that I could still complete the catalog with the help of the Marketing Assistant Graphic Design Assistant…we worked out tails off…and it looked great! I felt confident that my job would remain intact.

A few weeks later, the owner called us in and told us that they hired a new Art Director. Usually they would notify me if they were thinking of adding someone to the team…not this time! I was shocked and confused because as Sr. Graphic Designer, I felt I did an amazing job, but the owner wanted Marketing and the catalog to go in a new direction, so he hired an Art Director…we’ll call her “Witch.”

Witch told me that we would be completely changing software for the catalog layout. I had worked with same software for 8 years, and now they were changing it…and I was not notified until Witch came on board.

I requested that I be sent to class to learn this software ASAP so I can help out with the catalog right away, but Witch said, “Oh I can teach you” and “Let me know if you have any questions – I’d be happy to help!” Hmmm…so through the weeks, Witch did no such thing even after I requested her help. At times after asking her a question, she would bitterly reply, “I have no time to babysit you!” Wow…her true self was coming out.

I decided to pay for an online course in order for me to learn this software on my own.

The owner wanted to see some new mock-ups for the catalog, and so as I learned the software, I came up with some awesome layouts. When I told Witch about them, she said, “No, I will present MY ideas to the owner first. If he wants to see something different, then we can show yours.” I was in shock.

I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach especially since my responsibilities as Senior Graphic Designer were slowly becoming hers. In the end, my task was reduced to renaming all of the hundreds of files in the file catalog…I knew something wasn’t right.

Last spring, HR called me into their office. I was never called into their office – I was a great employee! I figured it had something to do with my 401K. When I saw the CFO sitting in the office too, I knew something was wrong.

“Well, we have some bad news. We have to let you go.” JUST LIKE THAT! I was in complete shock! I demanded to know who did this to me. They said that “Witch” told the owner that she could handle my job and hers by herself and I am not needed. So 8 years gets crushed by a person who did not even have their first review yet. I asked to see the owner, but they said he left for the day…”figures” – and that’s what I said. I was escorted by HR down the long hallway, & as I passed by Witch’s office I shouted “Thanks lot!” I wanted to add one more word starting with the letter “B” at the end of the sentence, but unfortunately it didn’t come out. Witch couldn’t even look at me…

As I packed up my things, my Marketing friends came to see me. I warned them that Witch was not who she seemed…that she had a mean streak to her…and that she would have a hard time by herself.

The weeks went on and I got some news through the grapevine. One day Witch through a major hissyfit because she couldn’t find some files…well duh…I hadn’t finished renaming the hundreds of images…LOL!

About a month later, justice was served! I was notified by my former boss (the one that was awesome!) who was notified by the photographer of the company that Witch was FIRED!!! Wicked had confronted the Marketing Assistant (who was promoted to my former boss’s position) and majorly yelled at her in the parking lot. I’m not sure what the reasoning was behind it, but the next day, Witch was given her walking papers…and she flew away on her broomstick!

I felt closure, and for the first time since I was laid off, happiness!

Today I am working as a freelancer and am doing well. Of course I took a big pay cut, but I’m content with my life.

This post was submitted by Genvieve.

I was one of five corporate level fitness faculty members for a company with a significant presence in nine different states. Our responsibilities included, but were not limited to, teaching the basic fundamentals of personal training, facilitating personal training certification workshops, leading a workshop on the company’s fitness policies and procedures, all of which were two or three day events, in addition to overseeing certain aspects of the fitness departments of all of the clubs within the region.

I was the epitome of a successful teacher, especially since the company would hire anybody with a pulse that the club managers thought had what it took to be successful, I had people in my classes that knew absolutely nothing about the human body. That was one of the perks of the job because, while I refer to myself as a teacher, I must relay my favorite quote from Socrates: “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think,” I got to form the foundation of a new train of thought; and I had no trouble making the learning process fun. In fact, here I am 13-months later and still in contact with several of the people I had in my classes. So, on second day back from two weeks of vacation and I’m doing a site visit with my immediate supervisor when he gets a page and informs me that he has a conference call at 12 and I should come in 15 minutes later.

I enter the office, close the door and make myself comfortable. Next thing I know, the two HR reps on the line inform me that due to the [workings of the Obama agenda], they were eliminating the position of fitness faculty to reduce company expenditures. My last day on salary was two weeks to the so I guess that was them giving me two-weeks notice.

As for my responsibilities, they were added to those of the person that taught the “business” aspect of the business to sales people and GMs. The first question from my mouth was, “What does he know about fitness?” Their response… “He has seven personal training certifications.” I responded with “What does that tell me about his knowledge of the human body?” They were positive that those certifications made him an expert, but, as most are aware, all a PT certification tells you is they know how to study the way (insert your choice of any PT cert here) wants you to know how the body works to fulfill THEIR objectives in the way that THEY dictate when it should be your client telling you their objectives so that you can fulfill them based upon your knowledge of how this magnificent machine works. I was pissed, especially I’ve forgotten more since grad school than he’ll ever know, and I let them know it, but what’s done is done. By the way, to supplement my point, he resigned from his new responsibilities just a few weeks into the mission. So because I’m still unemployed, I’ve returned to school for a PhD and they are still losing market share!

This post was submitted by Sheik Yerbouti.

After I graduated college I took this great job at a large bank where I would be doing a 2 year rotational program. I would rotate within all the different departments of the bank i.e Finance Credit Risk etc etc. Well 6 months into the job the economy started tanking and the rotations were canceled due to saving costs.

So in the meantime I was stuck at my home base in this terrible department where the managers were the biggest low lifes. The department i was stuck in is the one department no consumers ever see or could even imagine a bank has. Its called payment processing. They take people who have GED’s (if that) and put them into this factory like setting but call it a bank job. None of the managers had a college education, which is not a big deal if you don’t have a degree, but at least bring some professionalism into your work. These managers all came from these rough upbringings and would swear at employees. You had to tell them if you were going to the bathroom that’s how badly they micro managed. I remember an incident where my manager came up to me and said we need to you start coming in at 6am I said no because I drive my mom to the train every morning. She has the nerve to tell me because my family is wealthy that my mom should just buy a car. I told her that’s great my family is rich but my mom doesn’t know how to drive a car. It was all these different incidents week after week that would just irritate me. So I decided to stick it out till the economy got better.

In the meantime, I went above and beyond everything they asked me to do. I got along with everyone so well that people would come up to me and say thank goodness you’re here because without you I would be so miserable. I became the go to guy everyone would ask for help. So one day the department manager made an announcement that our department was being sold off to another company and starting Sep 1st we would all work for this new company.

Well 4 months later I took a day off of work for personal reasons and got a telephone call from a manager saying please call the department manager a quarter after 12. So I did that and he laid me off. How terrible is that to lay someone off over the phone? The thing that gets me the most is he said to me I hope you don’t think that I couldn’t face you and do this it was just the only time HR had? What a tool you just lay me off and you’re worried about my impression of you?

This post was submitted by Paul M.