Silence

Okay, so I've been quiet on this site for awhile. I've decided to stop posting my thankful lists, not because I'm not grateful anymore, but because I think the novelty has worn out.

I realize people may be interested in what is going on at my company. For those who don't readily remember, I work at a financial institution -- a corporate credit union. The economic collapse of the past two years has hit my company hard. So hard in fact, that earlier this year the NCUA (kind of like the FDIC for credit unions) took us into conservatorship. The CEO and board of directors were replaced, and since then, the new leaders have been slowly trimming people until we have now vacated the first floor of our building to make room for a possible sub-lease tenant.

Many of you also may know that I have been through a few lay-offs before. Although I left Sprint voluntarily, I did get to witness some rounds of trimming at that company. Since then, my two other employers have both let me go for cut-back reasons. This feels like a pathetic cycle in my life. A cycle that I was given a nice opportunity to break out of today when my current company offered voluntary separation. If you're not familiar with that term, it basically means you can leave your employer but still receive severance benefits -- which from this place is a really nice package. Of course, it has to be approved by your manager and HR, but this is basically a way for the company to continue to trim personnel without looking like the bad guy.

Anyway, I sat and considered this offer for a few minutes today. The severance package is very tempting, because it gives me at least two months of paid time. However, the things I like about working here still outweigh the recent negatives. I still have the best manager I've ever worked with. I get along really well with all my teammates and most of the company at large. The location is close and convenient. The benefits are still pretty good despite the latest changes. Granted, I may not have worked at a ton of different companies, but I have had enough varied experience to know that most places will have all the same political problems. I have decided that I am comfortable with my loyalty trait and will try to weather out this storm a little longer.

Of course, it may become moot sometime in the future if the NCUA changes regulations so that the purpose of my company is no longer needed. That will be a problem for another day, hopefully at least a year from now.