The Unemployed Life
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Out on the Street: A Day in the Afterlife
Each week, “Joe the Trader” chronicles his experiences with life after Wall Street.
For eleven years, I was short on time—or at least I told myself that. Now time is what I got. Welcome to January 30th.
Newspapers Facing Death By 15,000 Cuts. Who Else?
Erica Smith, a graphics designer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is a great example of someone who is applying creativity to bad circumstances.
A couple of years ago, Smith started compiling newspaper layoff reports into a mashup map that shows the toll across the country. “I can only update so many at a time without wanting to jump off the ninth floor of the building I live in,” she told the American Journalism Review.
Laid Off? That’s Only the First Insult
It’s bad enough they take away your job, your income, and your subsidized lunch. Some companies have been handling their layoffs so ineptly, it’s offensive. And there are other insults that just come with the territory. Some examples:
1. One toymaker (toymaker!) wouldn’t let employees return to their offices after being laid off — not even to get their coats. Human resources staffers retrieved bags and jackets, and said the rest would be packed up and shipped.
Out on the Street: Time Value of Me
Each week, “Joe the Trader” will chronicle his experiences with life after Wall Street.
Modern economic theories have tried to explain the tremendous salaries that movie stars, sports heroes and corporate executives earn on the theory of rent. That is, these people have a uniqueness— or a perceived uniqueness—that allows them to charge astronomical prices, because they are the only people in the world who can do what they do.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue as I go about my day, meeting with ex-colleagues and visiting the kids at their mom’s. Over the past two months, my time has declined dramatically in value. My education hasn’t changed. My work experience hasn’t changed. I would certainly argue that my talent hasn’t changed. But as with the superstars, perception is reality.
I’m Not Jobless, I’m…
…a banker/lawyer/retail executive/IT specialist/journalist/analyst who would rather not admit that I’ve been shit-canned. Some euphemisms that have been making the rounds at New York parties:
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