There was an eerie quiet in our office today. One of our colleagues in IT was layed off. Technically he was fired, but we have been calling them layoffs. It seems that to say that a person was fired implies that they were doing poorly, whereas to say that a person was layed off implies that the company was doing poorly. So, in that sense this was a layoff, though in all likelihood he will not be coming back to the company.
Actually, there was more than one layoff today, but only one from our local facility. I guess we should have seen it coming, the company started cutting production personnel late last year and recently layed off approximately forty indirect employees (employees who do not directly support production, such as in purchasing and engineering). And though those cuts were sobering, seeing someone you work with on a daily basis get let go brings it much closer to home.
Although I may technically be part of Generation X, I identify more with Generation Y from a cultural standpoint. Regardless of my official generational designation, we have not seen an economic period like the current one. There was the dot-com bust, but it did not seem to have as wide an effect as what we are seeing now. Some people would surely argue that no one has seen times like this since the Great Depression, but I get a different feeling when I talk to people who worked in manufacturing in the early 80s. Some of those "old timers" have told me about their experiences then, and how the current mood parallels it. They have seen times like these before, and are probably more prepared to cope with them than my generation is. I am sure that my generation will cope, but I think we will do so in a different manner.
I feel that my generation already has some sort of inherent mistrust for large businesses and the old guard that tends to manage them, and this economic crisis may serve to further solidify that sentiment. There was a sense of security in working for a large firm, now those firms are downsizing. There was a sense of security in dealing with large firms. The large financial institutions were viewed as safer simply because of their size. Now, as those firms teeter on the brink of bankruptcy, it could feel safer to deal with smaller local firms.
I believe that this economic crisis will be a transformational event. As the Great Depression shaped my grandmother's generation, this depression will shape my generation. Many people I know have already started acting more frugally, and have simultaneously started acting more "green". I feel that these two forces will resonate together and result in a less wasteful, less consumption based culture.
These events could also help to bring more emphasis back on small, local businesses. Big businesses are many times considered to be wrought with waste, and generally have a hard time convincing people that they are truly green. So, frugality and environmental consciousness may not benefit large businesses in the long run.
The economic crisis also showed the flaws in unrestrained capitalism that large companies champion. In the end it would appear that extreme capitalism benefited a few at the expense of the many, as well as at the expense of the environment. Large businesses seem to have been poor stewards of the environment and the nation. It would seem reasonable to expect that people may turn back to small business run by people they know in their community.
To be clear, I do not feel that capitalism is bad. But, when companies become obese they begin to carry more weight than the people, at which point they begin to influence a society's policies. Since they will act in their own best interests, they will influence policy in ways that befit them. And, many times that is in direct conflict with what is good for society. This crisis highlights this point, and if my generation is paying attention then they won't want it to happen again.
As the economic crisis hits home this is what I think. I only hope that I don't forget it once the economy gets going again.
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