Pink Slip

The story is about what had happened just before and after an Engineer was given the pink slip.

Once upon a time, in a workplace not so far far away, there was an engineer who joined a tech firm. He was smart, enterprising and a bright individual. To many it appeared that his only passion was to do his work with unflinching dedication. 

Few months passed. Naturally, he was a top performer and earned his place in the team. Few of his team members admired him for his work ethics; few others for his charm. However most of them liked his brilliance at work.

Many a times, he went a great distance to get things done. Along the way knowingly or unknowingly, he stepped on others’ feet, called ‘Spade a Spade’, ticked off the wrong people in the organization chain and even ended up being stonewalled on a few occasions. 

Though he produced great results, the perception was that he was a tough guy to work with. His immediate bossed kept warning him about the perceptions that built around him. He believed that he was correct most times. He also knew that his behavior was less than appreciated on some occasions. 

However, he was barely successful in changing the perception around him. Life became miserable for him and also the folks he worked with. The most unfortunate situation was that his admirers were also among his detractors.

Amidst all this workplace politics, his well-wishers and the admirers he earned stayed true to him. Warned him of impending danger, tried there best to help him.

Over the course of time, his detractors decided to put an end to the misery. They were waiting for one failure to make their move. One bad day at work, he missed an engineering deadline and snapped at one of the colleagues from the management chain. The knives were out. Allegations flowed; he was crucified in front of the HR. It was like his detractors were waiting for a chance to fix things. 

Fired!!! 

He was devastated. It was like his career had come crumbling down. For his admirers, the management’s move came as a rude shock. By the time they realized what had happened, he was gone. The HR had already escorted him out of the building.

Professional conduct and bad performances were sighted as reasons for the pink slip. Some employees believed the reasons the management provided them for this termination. Others did not. The same colleagues who recommended his termination were also among the folks who felt sad for the poor engineer.

The day was gone, weeks passed. The organization had moved on. People forgot what had happened.

One fine day, a few of his colleagues found out that he was working in one the biggest firms in the tech industry. He was leading a happy life. 

Looking back at the management decision to show the door, no doubt it was a bitter episode. They made a choice and there was bad blood. It was never a question of who was right or wrong. A hard decision had to be taken, and someone made it.

In the end, life moved on for everyone.