It might be petty, and it serves no one but the unemployed, but there’s something so satisfying about expressing glee every time a former company makes it in the news for screwing up its business. If it’s just hearsay from former co-workers, it’ll provide sympathy for those still trapped at the company. But if it makes it in the actual news or a prominent blog like TechCrunch, then it’s time for a mini celebration, both for the company failing and for having escaped. After all, the unemployed can’t help but feel bitterness towards their former employer. If they hadn’t had such terrible and inefficient business practices and hadn’t acted like they were untouchable, maybe they wouldn’t have buckled under Recession Doomsday 2008/2009/probably 2010. Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t have had to resort to lay offs, or even worse, looking for excuses to fire to avoid having to pay for unemployment insurance.
The mentality sort of falls along the line of, “If you can’t have me, no one can!” Everyone walks away from termination with somewhat of a bruised ego, especially when let go before someone else who probably deserved it more. So when a company makes the news for missing paychecks or other signs of ending up in the Dead Pool, some might feel like none of it would have happened if they were still there. Or, they’ll just cluck their tongues at the sinking ship and immediately fire off the news article to anyone and everyone who was once associated with the company. The unemployed derive a certain sick sense of pleasure if they’re the first to break the news, laughing and reminiscing with whoever responds about the bad times and how they hope the company gets put down soon. The moment of triumph is a bit fleeting as it becomes clear that everyone they’re contacting is either still employed at the company, or have moved on and started working somewhere else, while they are just unemployed, sitting in their pajamas, bitterly laughing, unable to move on, and unable to find a new job to hate.
Tags: bad news is good news, bitterness, recession
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you are f’ing hilarious and so spot on.
Ha this happened to me also. I found a past co-workers note on facebook about how the company was really going downhill after they let me go….and yes I gleefully chuckled inside while sitting in my pajamas
[...] from Stuff Unemployed People Like is the inevitable and impossible to avoid Gloating Every Time Their Former Company Screws Up. I mean, did they really think they could survive without [...]
hehe, had a summer job at six flags once, i cackled with glee when they demolished astroworld in houston and even more when they declared bankruptcy last week