Notes on: "Read the Blog: You're Fired" by Linton Weeks

This article talks about how many companies have moved towards rather impersonal and cruel ways to fire employees. Because of the convenience and dispassion associated with technological communication (though not all the "techniques" are through technology), companies are finding it easier to lay people off without having to directly fire the employees or give reasons for the layoff. The article cites some examples of this:

• Tesla Motors CEO essentially laid off workers through his blog
• Partner at Washington Law Firm found a note on his desk telling him he was being forced out
• Some RadioShack employees received an email
• Korean credit card company fired employees through instant message
• After coming back from lunch, one man realized that his security card was deactivated
• High-tech company during dot-com crash gathered employees into a conference room and read out a list of people it was letting go of
• It isn't uncommon to see people being laid off via email or BlackBerry

I think what these companies are doing is outrageous because though it may save employers much time and effort -- and maybe even the pain of laying off a colleague -- it makes the process much more "depersonalized." In a related article, a professor from the University of New Hampshire explains that these impersonal ways to layoff employees can "make a bad situation worse." According to this professor, the biggest problem managers make is they become "robotic" and "emotionless" when terminating workers. Furthermore, I agree with the author who claims that it is unfair to tell an employee that he/she is being let go without any due reason or claim. It is ridiculous that some managers can't show some decency and respect toward their employees. Especially in this day and age, when the once-booming-economy is staggering, it is clearly important for companies to show a little more compassion and understanding towards their employees so that it is "easier psychologically for both sides of the desk."