A cautionary tale of corporate cast-offs and personal renewal
Johanne Schumann
The colour of his parachute is green. The green of a Reno Depot utility apron, that is. But for Phil Lavigne, the seasoned man wearing it, it’s the color of a fresh start. With skills honed most of his adult working life as a customer service manager for once mighty telecommunications giant Nortel, Lavigne now sells rope and chain to many of his former co-workers.
“People used to say, Oh, you work at Nortel--you’re so lucky!” says Lavigne. But that was before the company euphemistically let go 65,000 employees an unprecedented two-thirds of its brainpower. In the good old days, about three years ago, when Nortel stock hit an historic high of $124, new buildings were sprouting around town, and there were generous perks, parties and overtime for the 6,000-plus employees in the Montreal area.
“It was the place to work in Canada,” he adds, recalling the recent heyday of $3,500US referral bonuses. “I know people who left their jobs to join Nortel, who got signing bonuses.” What happened next is the subject of much commiseration among holders of the now penny stock, especially at Right Management Consultants. The company is placement office where scores of ex-employees meet, less inclined to work on their first new resume in 20 years, than for a little impromptu group therapy—so, how’d it happen to you?
REALITY CHECKS
After decades of loyal service, Lavigne, 59, was expecting a gold watch, not a pink slip. But he says the big losers are middle managers done in by the magic bullet, the 28-year service required for pension eligibility. There are hundreds of Montrealers with the misfortune of being too old to relocate and too young (or financially unprepared) to retire.
“Say you were someone with 25 years service. There would be no pension until you turn 65,” he explains. “You could be 45 years old and get no pension for 20 years!” Nortel’s generous severance packages are of limited consolation to those facing a famine in global tech industries and fierce competition for remaining jobs. “People have had to change career in midstream. And when you go somewhere else, you have to start from the bottom,” Lavigne adds. “Your expertise might be limited by your education.”
PICK YOURSELF UP WHEN ECONOMY IS DOWN
Despite economic fallout or personal pain, those best able to avoid depression or being consumed by anger, hurt and fear accept that “what you do is not who you are,” says Richard N. Bolles, the undisputed leader of job hunters and guru of career change.
In his manual What Color Is Your Parachute? (updated annually), Bolles offers practical strategies for dealing with any crisis of unemployment as an opportunity for something new. He insists you can cope and “be joyful in your daily living, even after considering all the facts…if you reject any picture you may have of yourself as a passive, pitiable martyr, and opt instead for a picture of yourself as one who is actively at work, rebuilding your life.” Accordingly, there’s no shame in being partially employed. It’s easier on the ego and the pocketbook to look for full-time work while holding down an interim job. Freed from office partitions, Lavigne, who also works part-time at Sears, agrees. He has opted for a new lifestyle in retail, “something non-stressful where you’re at ease, and you practically make your own hours.”
BUILD IMMUNITY TO MELTDOWN
Lavinge has advice for those on the chopping block (and considering no Job is guaranteed, that means everyone): “Do your job, but don’t get too involved. Have a life outside the office. And make sure any extra hours you put in are by choice. Stay flexible and keep up-to-date.”
What about Nortel brass and their golden parachutes? To avoid seeing red, don’t even go there.
