In my case I Rage Quit due to changes the company made during the Pandemic. Not really "on topic" except for the fact that I spent a huge amount of time supporting conference rooms, training rooms, and doctors video conferencing rooms at virtually all of the local hospitals so my Rage Quit and subsequent retirement impacted the local hospitals ability to function in a timely and professional manner. Guys I worked with, who have been forced to do my job because, well, there's no one to hire, tell me it will not likely ever be "the same".
In 2020 The Company laid off 286 people April 1 because they said the coming shutdowns in Hospitals and Court Houses etc. would mean they had no work for integration installers, programmer, and technicians. The number of people they let go was the exact number of people they needed to dump to get below the 500 employee limit to be eligible for PPP (Pandemic Payroll Protection) payouts which weren't active yet.
The Company received over $3 million in PPP cash and then discovered that not only was their business not impacted by shutdowns, it exploded as the whole world went to video conferencing. They brought back enough people to get the job done and went on to have the best yearly profit ever had. But they did not bring back any support people - no shipping and receiving, no draftsmen, no field service techs , no one in purchasing. They told the people called back and still employed that they'd have to "up their games" and cover for the leaner, meaner work force so they now had salaried techs, programmers, and integration installers working 50 - 60 hour work weeks for 40 hours pay. Because they were afraid.
I finally got back on 9 months after layoff by calling the Branch Director and telling him that my unemployment was done and my $1200 a month COBRA payment made it absolutely imperative that I get back to work. Their largest competitor had told me I was hired sight unseen as I trained their whole crew over my 49 year career. The they reluctantly agreed to put me back on but I have up my seniority and PTO and was titled as an "Installer" instead of a Field Service Specialist so they could put their 65 YO engineering tech out climbing ladders, pulling wire, and installing cameras and speaker.
Jan 0f 2022 they sent me to a jobsite with no heat, lights, or running water at -12 F. I slipped while unloading cable spools and knocked myself out cold in the parking lot. My 23 YO assistant thought I was dead. When I came to, I busted out laughing, got up off the ground, walked in and quit after reading the asshole Branch Director the riot act. Drove back to the shop, unloaded my personal tools and effects and my Wife picked me up.
I think this has happened all across America and it's part of the reason a lot of places just are understaffed. People quit in droves.
VooDoo
