Deep Impaction

Reporting from work, where the farewell emails keep pouring in after last week’s layoffs. (By the way, did you know what the new word is? We’ve had fired, let go, laid off, made redundant, downsized and rightsized. Now, apparently, when you suddenly find yourself without employment, you’ve been “impacted.” Like a molar.) But the thing that gets me about these emails is how cheerful they are. I mean, we’re talking about people who have, in the last year, gone through a move, a previous round of layoffs, three CEO changes, a company spinoff and a really lame Christmas party, only to be dumped out into the worst job market in decades. You’d think there would be a certain amount of negativity in their communications, wouldn’t you? But no, it’s all “I truly appreciate my time here” and “I wish you all the best.” I mean, seriously? I know biotech is a small world, and we’re all bound to run into each other again, but did no one have “blaze of glory” on their to-do list? Not even a little dig about sinking ships, or the folly of letting go of the people who were doing the actual work around here? Granted, my cube neighbor did book a trip to Phuket, which may have been a subtle comment on her feelings, but I think it was really just that she likes scuba diving.