I'm 4 weeks away from my voluntary redundancy. I was planning on leaving the job this year anyway, as I wanted to move, so to get a nice paycheck with it was a definite bonus.
Of the people that chose voluntary redundancy, it was mostly those without ties to the area, those that could move, young enough to re-skill, or old enough to retire. The ones that were forced into redundancy have families, mortgages, history in the area, enough baggage to cause inertia. Part of my reasoning to take the voluntary redundancy was to help save at least one person from that.
So absolutely, consent matters. It just sucks that this is happening at all.
The company's stated reasons for redundancy was to move skills to other locations in the country. This is after a year's long effort to co-locate in order to facilitate collaboration. What it really seems to be is that our location has very high staff retention, and therefore high salaries, and the company thinks it can hire younger and cheaper elsewhere. The skill and knowledge lost with this move is staggering, everyone can see that, but profit is the most important factor the company cares about, so it'll inflict its own wounds to get profit up. Capitalism is weird.
Years ago, I worked in the IT department at a university that brought in an MDM for accessing work email on personal devices with a policy of wiping the phone if you got your unlock code wrong 3 times. I refused to use it on my personal device and told the head of the department that it was far too risky as you could accidentally do this with the phone in your pocket. He disagreed, but less than a week later, this exact thing happened to him, got his unlock wrong 3 times, phone wiped, no backup done. He still refused to change the policy even with the inconvenience it caused him. I just laughed.
(Verse 1)
Worf: I'm a Klingon warrior, born to fight
Data: I'm an android, made of metal and light
Worf: I've got a heart full of rage
Data: I've got a mind full of sage
(Chorus)
But we're both part of the Star Trek crew
And we're both here to see it through
We've got our differences, it's true
But we're both here to fight for what we believe in, me and you
(Verse 2)
Worf: I've fought in battles, I've seen the best and the worst
Data: I've studied the human condition, I've put it to the test
Worf: I believe in honor and duty
Data: I believe in logic and beauty
(Chorus)
But we're both part of the Star Trek crew
And we're both here to see it through
We've got our differences, it's true
But we're both here to fight for what we believe in, me and you
(Bridge)
We're two very different beings, that's for sure
But we're both part of the Star Trek crew, that's pure
We've got our differences, but we also have our strengths
And together, we can overcome any length
(Chorus)
We're both part of the Star Trek crew
And we're both here to see it through
We've got our differences, it's true
But we're both here to fight for what we believe in, me and you
During uni, I'd just moved house with some friends of mine, a big old party house of 9 people (5 officially lived there, but some had partners, and a couple friends usually crashed on the sofas). My room was the converted garage, so was at the front of the house, which meant I had door duty.
So there was a knock at the door a few days after we moved in. I opened it and there was a girl there, similar age to us, who said "Hi [my name], we saw you guys move in, thought we'd come over when you were settled. We live just down the road." I have no idea who this girl is, but she knows me by name, so I greet her in a friendly manner, while internally trying to figure out who the fuck she is.
We're chatting for a bit, from the context of the conversation I discern she knows people I know, but I still don't recognise her. Then one of my housemates comes down the stairs and greets her by name, let's say Susie. 'Good,' I think, 'Mike knows her, she's at least not a crazy catfish.'
After a couple more minutes, she addresses me, looking annoyed. "You don't remember me, do you?" she says, directly at me. I flubber for a bit, apologise and ask where we met. She says she sees me all the time at The Hole In The Wall, a local pub. "Well you can't expect me to remember someone I only meet while drunk!"
We're still standing in the doorway, front door open, when someone else shows up. I recognise him and greet him, "Hi, John!" This sends Susie into a rage. "John's my boyfriend! You've only met him when you see me. And you remember him!" I don't know how to react and again blame alcohol.
Recounting this story to another housemate later in the day, he just laughs. "You really are gay, aren't you?" he manages during fits of laughter.
The human sphincter can stretch to 7 inches in diameter. A raccoon can squeeze into 4 inches. You do the math and draw your own conclusions.