Downsizing Ch. 01
Keywords: Ch., 01, Downsizing,
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Being frail and weak is a gift that not many men see the beauty of. Most consider it a punishment or something of that nature. There is another gift that many men don't see. That gift is affirmative action. Most other people lose the chance at some excellent jobs because of their race, creed, sex, etc.
As you can guess, I am one of the men that are frail and weak. Due to that factor, I spent most of my years in college doing intellectual courses. I wasn't one of the guys going out for football, baseball, or basketball. I didn't even go out for the sports that were more inclined to get the physiques like mine, such as swimming or track.
Now don't get me wrong, I do hang out with the guys. Watching the state college football team and cheering them on. Or occasionally a basketball game or two if it's going to be a good game like Duke and Kentucky. Beyond that, there is nothing really in common between my male friends and myself.
Being male is what gave me the edge when I went to look for a job after we all got out of college. I was chided terribly by my friends when I took a computer analyst position at one of the cosmetic companies. For the first few times when we would get together for a night in front of the big screen to watch the game, as I walked in the door someone would holler "Avon Calling."
When I learned to ignore the rest of the guys as I walked in the harassment stopped like the rest of the guys had been told by some higher being they were going to go to hell for heckling me.
That's where this memory takes off. The company I worked for no longer exists. The company was bought out by a competitor during the nineteen eighty-seven stock market crash. There was a lot of downsizing, and many people lost their jobs. I was quite good by the time the take over went through, and had a decent job security, or so I thought. When the new manager of the business departments came through, she started going through the staff to do some cutbacks. Anyone not up to par on attendance and performance was cut no debate. I felt I was pretty safe when she was done cutting people.
Our department was moved to the front of the facility so that the back where we had been could be used as more storage area to safe some warehousing costs. Then the new manager came by again and more people started losing jobs. I hadn't noticed at first, but all of the people that were losing jobs were guys. Most of them were the big strong type. Then some of the smaller men such as myself started getting cut from the job. As I walked into the office on the third day, after the second round of cuts started, I noticed a bag sitting on my desk. Anything on my desk should be fair game for me, so I took a look into the bag. All that was in the bag were cosmetics. That didn't seem out of place, as we were a cosmetics company. I put two and two together and came to the conclusion that one of the ladies must of stopped by my desk and forgot her make up when she went to work at her own desk. When I looked around to see if I could see someone the bag may belong to, I noticed several other desks that had the bags on him or her. Maybe it was the company's way of saying congratulations; you are still employed, and left gifts for the women and the girlfriends/wives of the men.
I put it out of my mind, and went to work. A short time after I had been working, I got an email notification. My presence was requested in the manager's office. I just knew I was about to get cut from the job. I nearly just packed up my stuff to walk out the door, but decided better of it, and went to Ms. Stanton's office.
I knocked on the door of the office, and shortly after that the door opened. Ms. Stanton asked me in, and told me to have a seat opposite her at her desk. I took my seat and waited for the bomb to drop. Ms. Stanton didn't make me wait long. She was quite blunt about what I was there for. "Mr. Davis, is it ok if I call you Daniel?" she said. After nodding, she started talking again. "Daniel, as you have noticed we have downsized a great deal since the take over. We have also done some rearranging of the facility, as you probably noticed by your desk up front now. The reason you are here is simple. In order to save a little on advertising we have come up with a simple dress code that we give us a little bit more publicity, as well as maintain a orderly work environment." She continued with "From Monday on, anyone that sits in the front of the building will be wearing a white button down blouse or shirt, and black slacks or a skirt, as well as our line of products to support the company, or will be looking for a new job. As most companies have a anti competition clause in the paperwork done during hiring, all the employees let go must also look into a new field of work as well for at least six months."
Stunned all I could do was sit there with my mouth gaping open. I didn't even know if I had any legal rights in this matter, and planned to check it out as soon as I left the office that day. Ms. Stanton asked me if I had any questions, and that kind of jarred me back and I was able to ask her if that meant I would have to wear make up to work. And her answer was not what I was hoping for. She had quite flatly told me yes, and that the bag on my desk would have everything in it I would need if I came back on Monday.
Needless to say, I did stop by an employment attorney's office on the way home from work that night. I was informed that the company was well within it's rights in setting the dress code and was even more so, beings that the dress code included the company's products.
Being that it was only Monday of the current week, as soon as I got home, I started putting together resumes and doing online job searches. After a few years with the company I worked for, I no longer qualified for many of the jobs out there, and knew my search would take me well over a week to find something suitable, that I qualified for. By Thursday I was getting a little bit frustrated by the job market, and just a little desperate, only two more work days left before I would lose my job. I was not gonna drive around in a shirt and make up that would look like I was looking for a job at the circus.
Friday at noon, I decided I would clock out, and just go home early since I wasn't planning on returning on Monday looking like a clown just so the company could make a few bucks. Just as I started cleaning out my desk Stacy happened along, and saw what I was doing. There was a look of sadness on her face, and I nearly felt as sorry for her as I did for myself. So as not to offend me, she asked If I was just getting started on some spring cleaning early. That is when it really hit me that I was going to be unemployed on Monday morning, and I broke down.
Stacy came over to console me, and asked if there was anything she could do. I told her that unless I felt like wearing makeup with my new uniform (so to speak), that nobody could do anything for me. Stacy and I have gotten very close in the last couple of years, and I feel if I can trust anyone it was her.
All of the sudden, she said stop, and put everything back in my desk. She told me to go ahead and clear the rest of the day off with my supervisor, and at Six O'clock met her at her place. She also asked if I still had the bag that was on my desk, so I pointed to the drawer it was stored in. She took it with her after she gave me a kiss on the cheek. She then said "See you promptly at Six tonight.
I went back home and for a couple hours continued my job search online. I still didn't see anything at all that piqued my attention so I took a shower and go ready to go to Stacy's place.
When I got to Stacy's and rang the bell she opened the door and stood there beaming with glee. She looked really good standing there in a white t-shirt and some loose fitting blue shorts. After she invited me in she jumped up and kissed me square on the lips, though it was not one of those kissed that involved tongue play, it was the first time she had ever kissed me on the lips. Now I was beaming. Even with the prospect of being unemployed on Monday, the kissed seemed to lift my spirits.
Stacy told me to follow her into the kitchen. When we got there, there was a pizza and some soda sitting on the table. Stacy said "Lets eat, then I will tell you why I asked you to come over tonight." We ate two pieces of pizza each and chatted for a few minutes before Stacy said we had had enough for now.
After everything was put away, Stacy turned to me and had a very serious look on her face, one that I hadn't seen before, and it worried me. Then she started talking to me about why she had asked me over. "You know Dan, we have gotten to be very good friends in the last couple of years. With the new policies it seems that the company is trying to thin out the workforce and not have to pay into help with the unemployment. I know about the choice they gave you, and it's really rather uncalled for. Please listen to everything I have to say before you interupt me ok?"
I told her I would and then she started what seemed like a good solution, but one I didn't think I could go through with.
"Ok Dan, Stanton gave everyone the same speech you heard. I was hoping you would find a new job before today, so that I wouldn't be worried about you. You have been quiet and distant all week long, and it even seemed you wanted to be by yourself even when I was concerned. Not sure if that was intentional, but that's the feeling I got. For the women at work, Stanton's request isn't so much of a problem. For the men however, it's like telling all of the guys they have to come to work looking like Crusty the Clown from the show the Simpsons"
She then went on, "If Stanton gave you the same speech she gave me she said the dress code was a while shirt or blouse, and black slacks or skirts. Am I right?"
"Yes" I replied.
"Good" Stacy said. "Then we have a way for you to keep your job, atleast until you can find the one you are looking for.
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Keywords: Ch., 01, Downsizing,