You're Fired, So What?

Let me tell you a very poorly kept secret in the radio industry - if you are in it long enough, you are going to get fired. While being fired in other professions is a black mark on your record, it really means nothing in the broadcast industry. There are those who will not admit this, but the "clash of egos and ideologies" runs deep. It's not uncommon to get a new Program Director or Operations Manager and within a matter of a few weeks, long time staff are being escorted out of the HR office with box in hand and 30 minutes to clean out their desks and get outta' dodge. It's a fact of life, and it sucks. But it's our fault this once beloved industry has gone to hell. We have allowed it to happen, but that's a subject for a different posting.

Recently, one of my co-workers got it in her head that she was headed for the chopping block. It's not hard to get paranoid in our building, with all the closed door meetings, out of office lunches, and people being seen in places that they normally don't belong, a person can get a complex pretty fast. It's how you handle the game that counts, and believe me, it IS a game! If you let all of the office politics wash over you like river water over a well smoothed rock, then more than likely, you'll be ok. Hunker down, do your work, keep your mouth shut, avoid the bosses office, and go home as fast as possible. That is the way to survive.

Drawing attention to yourself, and your growing paranoia over termination is NOT the way to deal with the situation.

Higher ups enjoy a little "cloak and dagger" every now and then. They like to see who can walk the walk, and who breaks like glass under the stress. Sometimes, they can weed out the weak links like that and not have to worry about a severance package or letting someone out of a non-compete. It's in their best interest to test the waters now and then and see what shakes out. My best advice...if you're gonna' get canned, let them do it to it to you so you can grab unemployment, COBRA for your insurance, and a severance package.

I'd love to write more, but seeing as it's Labor Day, I'm going to go call said co-worker and see how bad her condition is.