How about perspectives...we are all in only 2 categories. Category 1:employed. Category 2: Not employed, either by force or choice. If we are or were forced out by XOM or any company, we cannot let that define our value. Next perspective is WHY. I’m going to skip that one and go immediately to the 3rd perspective of WHAT because getting stuck on WHY something happens, like a lay-off, is depressing, painful, and sometimes will never make sense or heal us. So back to perspective 3. WHAT do you want right now? We should do whatever brings us peace. We should do whatever brings us joy. If we are working for someone, and we do not share the same morals or beliefs, it doesn’t make us an id–t, it doesn’t make us bad, it makes us focused. If staying at XOM will allow us to date our Boo, puts food on the table, allows us to give to non profits, helps our family, explore the world, puts our kids through school, pays our bills, and allows us to accomplish our goals, then do that. If unemployment provides me a temporary break to slow down and discover the things in life that really matters, then I chose to see it as a gift. I too was ranked ridiculously low. I know I am not a loser, bottom feeder, or an id–t. Do I agree. No. Do I care. Absolutely. But life is a combination of cause and effect and unpredictable events...sometimes I have control and sometimes I do not. At this point, I’m either going to be employed or unemployed. I am a believer in God and nothing or no one has the power to make me feel inadequate. I have to focus on WHAT I WANT. And WHAT I want is not determined by a person or an organization. I want peace. I want happiness. I want joy. We have to go back to the basic fundamentals...We are all human trying to live our best lives. Don’t allow a person or a temporary circumstance determine our value or self worth. We are stronger than we think. Regardless of what happens, I will relax and drink my wine with my besties because I’m crazy enough to believe that the universe will align the stars ✨ and provide me with provision and vision to continue to do the things that brings me joy. In closing, life is guaranteed to throw us curveballs, but when it does, make lemonade from the lemons🍋 . I hope I inspire you to find your happy place and find comfort in knowing that we are stronger than we think and we are all in this together.☀️ 🌙 ✨
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Welp, gonna jam to this oldie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM&list=PLwcxN4_BmnK7rR7FnjGa1fJzcTknvuujk&index=120
Good luck y'all!
God is a she.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re wrong.
The prosperity gospel thread is elsewhere.
Good bye.
That's a positive take on oil industry layoffs, but what kind of positive and practical actions can an affected person take? As a former petroleum geologist who suddenly found himself unemployed during the great layoff event of 1986, I believe that some of you may benefit from my long-ago experiences.
I received my BS in geology in 1978 and my MS in 1982. In between I was a mudlogger and a field geologist for the university I attended for grad school. So, by the time I graduated I had quite a bit of experience and eventually went to work for a large independent in Texas. Everything was fine until May 1986, when my 12 years of college and hard work went down the drain during a 5-minute meeting with my boss and I was laid off. Some people have said that today’s conditions are “unprecedented” but they probably weren’t around in 1986, when oil prices were $9/bbl.
As I see it, laid off petroleum geologists and engineers have two choices—stay put and hope for an opportunity (miracle?) or leave the oil business. I left and never looked back. I was 29 in 1986 and found work as a state regulator and hydrologist in Arizona. The transition wasn’t too hard and I settled in for a long career in both the public and private sectors in Phoenix.
Too much trouble or too drastic, you say? Not at all. There was nothing in Texas when I left. The oil industry didn’t really recover for over a decade while I was hard at work and earning a nice pension on top of that. A lot of other petroleum geologists did exactly the same thing, and one of them (who moved from Denver) ended up being my boss in Phoenix. She’s now retired as well.
If you’ve been laid off you may be unemployed for a long, long time if you just wait around. So think about pulling the pin, it worked great for me. I’m 63, happily retired, and I never regretted my decision to move on. Good luck, folks.
Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.
Not to lose my job over some BS made up reason
No words of wisdom for you other than Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. I’m beginning to believe it.
Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.
@jiz+16cpPYQd
What should I do if I’m not a Christian, and I don’t have your god in my belief system? 😱
I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland to see what the army does with those wee red knives.
Beautifully stated by @OP. Don't get too caught up in a setback. Life is full of setbacks. We need setbacks. They makes us grow.
@xsm. I feel you. I felt the same way at first. Shocked. Confused. Hurt. Angry. And now I’m like what can I control and what can I not control. I was definitely thrown under the bus but after reading all the posts I realized that wait a minute...it’s not just me. So I agree. It was bad how they did it. Honesty is always better. But what choice do we have? God will provide our needs. He always does. We may have to downsize or reduce our spending but I’m trusting God to take care of us just like he takes care of the birds 🦅 and the 🌊 oceans and flowers 🌸. We are created in his image so stand tall. XOM or any company is just a source to provide income. God owns all the sources anyway so tell Him and He will check them! It’s not easy but you will make it. I will pray for you too😘
This is a text book example of Toxic Positivity,
““These messages delegitimize the anxiety and heartbreak ripping through our country and the world right now, robbing us of the right to have bad days in the midst of this crisis.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2020/06/05/had-a-tough-week-sometimes-feeling-bad-is-good-for-you/
Enjoy the 🍷 with your besties.
Thanks for the hopeful words. But for those that have to make ends meet between being forced out of work and securing the next job/paycheck in an unprecedented climate, it's of little comfort right now. Exxon has always attracted the best, providing better benefits and having an inclusive culture where they train us to believe that we are an important piece of this behemoth. We're told that as employees we are competent and necessary, and slowly this 'worthiness' becomes a part of our identity, we take the culture home with us daily (safety etc.). They also hire many contractors across all departments, especially operations/technician level, assuring us that if things were to go south, contractors are the buffer that get cut first and employees are safe for the most part. That's of course unfair to the contractors, but they are hired as temporary workers and that is always clear from the start, it's not shocking. What I do not get about this current situation is that most contractors in my area (BTEC) are still employed but ExxonMobil employees are being let go first. Maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, I hope that in time I experience what you are trying to put out there, the positive outlook and self confidence. But right now, I just don't feel it. I feel betrayed and confused. After being consistently told for years that I'm an asset, that I've done better year after year, this is like whiplash. Just say that you have to make cuts because of the current economic environment. Don't try to tell me I'm not good enough out of the blue. They are handling this terribly. And I have to say BTEC HR is the worst department here. The advisors and managers both are incredibly inexperienced folks. There's a very high turnover, none of these HR folks have even been here at BTEC for more than 2 years. This inconsistency has been going on for a long time. And now these dummies are in charge of leading this slaughter. Anyway, good luck to all of you, whether ur caught up in this now, or will be later on, or get away clean.
Nice- thank you and good luck!
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