I know how it feels, and believe it or not, secretly I wished I was one of you. During the previous round of layoffs in 2017-2018, there were no black banners, no press releases, no public outrage or moral support. After eighteen months hanging in limbo, we were quietly sent away. In secret. Even Benjamin Dalle denied when he took office as minister of media that I had been fired, and continued to insist for a long time afterwards that there would be no layoffs.
After a year and a half of watertight omertà, during my last radio broadcast I seized the power of the microphone and made my dismissal public myself. It never occurred to my superiors that I wanted to say a dignified goodbye to my listeners. Someone disappears, just like that. Half an fte less.
Is your group this time too large to keep quiet about? Are there too many well-known names involved? Could VRT policy in the meantime have actually learned something about crossing boundaries and abuse of power? Is one risking #metoo lawsuits?
That it could always have been worse won't help you any. But that you at least escape the culture of silence and passive aggression will hopefully result in fewer traumas.
Inform yourself well before you sign a settlement, it can be a way to silence you. Talk as much as possible about what is happening to you now, visibly and publicly if you can. Draw energy and comfort from every sign of genuine sympathy, the lower in the pecking order, the greater the chance that colleague is also truly a safe place for you. Ask yourself whether perhaps you were still naive. Most people are decent, now and then. And finally, know that it can take a long time for the wounds of rejection to heal. It always takes longer than you think, says Judith Herzberg, even if you think, it will probably take longer than I think.
In my Matrix lecture 'Radio, a virtual concert hall' I still speak with love about our magnificent public broadcaster, to which, like most staff members, I immediately sold my soul. How foolish can I be. This socially important institution, which aims to stand as a guarantor for information and culture, is meanwhile being systematically dismantled. Whoever continues to claim that this targeted demolition process is inevitable and driven by budget cuts has not understood a thing about it.
My respect for those who remain.
Rowing with even shorter leashes in rough water, that will become very difficult indeed.
Hold on. Take good care of each other.