The Art of Retaliation
We’re all basically twenty-two and twenty-three years of age, my friends and I. We graduated college in ‘06 and ‘07, so we are only now settling into our first full-time, salary-driven, benefits-offering, “real” jobs that may one day lead us into a career. While these entry-level positions may not be where we want to remain for the rest of our lives, we choose them based on what will help us get to where we think we want to be.
For a very dear friend of mine*, her dreams and reality did not work as one. She landed a job with Martha Stewart and was thrilled beyond belief. My friend has always been a dedicated worker. Throughout high school, she played sports and earned As on her report cards. She was admitted into a highly reputable and competitive university, volunteered and interned throughout school, and post-graduation worked 12-hour days to help Martha Stewart continue in success.
Then, one day she and her department were “brought in” and told that they were being replaced by temps, and to please clear their desks immediately.
Now, if I were to ban Martha from my life for that, well, that’d just be silly. But, you see, there’s more to it and here’s the kicker:
Because these employees were laid off on the spot, they had a “choice” of whether or not they were going to receive their two-weeks pay:
1) sign a waiver to not work for any Martha competitor for the next TWO YEARS and receive two-weeks pay
2) do not sign the waiver and do not receive two-weeks pay.
And, along this whole “two” framework–like Martha’s two-sidedness–ex-employees were given two weeks to make up their minds on whether or not they would sign the waiver. My friend, thank the Lord, did not sign.
To retaliate against Martha in my new apartment, I have decided to go the Abbey Smith route while shopping for bathroom towels, rugs, etc. at K-Mart. Sure, MS is cheaper, but could this be part of the reason why? Because she fires full-time employees and replaces them with temps??
It is a shame that I based this blog and my domestication aspirations on someone like Martha Stewart.
*For privacy reasons, my friend’s name, job title, and location have been omitted. She is not aware that I am blogging about her story, hence the omittance of this information.
