Last Tuesday my toxic manager called me rambling about job opportunities in a certain group I should look at but when i asked her job numbers, titles etc..she just said look out there and she said not even sure there are openings in your hub but you know them so reach out. This manager also gave me my first ever IM in 29 years with no real reason so I know she targeted me because she does not like me. The last 2 1/2 years since she became my manager due to a reorg has been miserable. When she gave me IM, I told her at that time I would be looking at internal jobs but do not think she was trying to help me when she called me because there were no jobs even in the group she told me about because i asked around. She told the team a year ago she cannot tell us when she knows person will be laid off but will try to give a hint. I am going to be mad if it is the case but on the other hand will be a big relief to escape her and toxic environment. Big fear at 49 is i will have hard time finding something external. Do u think she is giving me a hint?
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@mp Unfortunately, it appears you are having a great amount of difficulty trying to deal with the rating given to you by your manager. I can see that you are ignoring one very significant factor in your posting here. Your point that this manager never said anything to you during the year is very well taken. Once you realized this, after repeated queries to this manager about your performance, it proved to you that nothing was going to change. I can honestly say to you that one of the most difficult, if not impossible, things in this world is to make people change. You tried repeatedly and see the results. I am now 79, retiring at the ripe old age of 75. Allow me to jokingly mention the Poster on this thread who boasted of 6 Million and enjoying International travel. That is most definitely not me! More power to them. I never like to offer unsolicited advice. I make an exception here. Todays 60’s are the new 50’s. Continue with your career aspirations. Do not let a poor superior make you doubt yourself in the pursuit of a new job for any reason, especially age. One last thing. I use the let them theory philosophy, by Mel Robbins, and highly recommend it as appropriate. Continued good fortune to you!
Just take the severance and if they fire use an attorney and say they made age gender or race related comments a lot.
@mp Best of luck to you. This could happen to any of us now with the new push to fire people for "cause" and no guardrails for what that means. It's scary.
@mm I hope you take this in the spirit in which it’s given, which is an innocent question: since this an employment at will state, they can fire for any reason, even if they don’t like the color of your hair… and even a top performer with tenure. Where would the claim be in the case of the top performer with tenure?
@am thank you for your response. It was indeed a good one and offered a lot of hope to me for I am a person who received IM despite never having one negative thing said during the past year … even tho I repeatedly ask my manager how I was doing… that being said, I sm trying hard to move beyond the unfairness of the situation — and I found your comment about being 71 and finding so amazingly helpful because I’m in my 60s and that’s the thing I’m most worried most about … that I won’t be able to find a job due to my age. I had planned to work until I was 72 or 73. So thank you for giving me some help. Hope other people get some as well.
@h8 If they start doing that to long-term employees with never a low review rating, then two in a row, then fired, there will be lawsuits, and WF will lose.
@h4 Two consecutive IMs (including mid-years) and HR will pressure the manager to fire the employee for cause. No PIP required. This is a fairly new thing.
@b2 I have heard inconsistent things about “inconsistently meets”. I have had a manager say it doesn’t matter unless it’s “needs improvement” and others say it’s an internal posting death sentence. Anybody here from HR know?!
@OP Why stay in an environment you believe is toxic and miserable? That alone feels like a sign it’s time to consider a change.
An IM doesn’t automatically mean you were targeted. If others are performing at higher levels, the whole team can’t all be rated “meets.” Someone will fall into IM.
From what you described, it actually sounds like she may be trying to give you a heads up. If she’s encouraging you to look internally and previously said she tries to hint about layoffs, that doesn’t sound malicious, it sounds like she might be trying to help.
If you’re already unhappy, maybe this is the nudge to take control instead of assuming the worst.
Received an IM for year end performance reviews. I was laid off in Q3. Job market is trash. I know people who have been looking for over a year. I cannot get an interview to save my life.
@b2
Wise words.
I told my boss exactly this when I blew up when I got my IM. Asked for sev and expect to be perfed out by mid year.
Once someone receives an inconsistently meets rating, obtaining employment within Wells Fargo is impossible. Logically, why would a team hire an inconsistent performer? Plus, it's consistent that people with this rating lose their jobs fairly quickly. So why remain in a poorly run firm with reputational issues? Makes no sense.
@OP. Sounds like she is having a guilty conscious giving you the IM. But that's her... care about you. Develop boundaries. Then you say "i will have hard time finding something external". Why do you say this? You think you can get a job internally but not externally.
This bank has sheltered you from the real world? Get a grip on yourself. Build a skills list of what you have learned at the bank. Compare it to job specs of other banks. Create a skills gap list. Then start learning. Upskill yourself. Finally use AI and youtube and/or X.com. Do the things you need to do to withstand the toxic environment or better yet get out of it.
@a3 you’re silly to look internally. Focus on external only.
Yes. But the hint was the IM.
My only comment here is about your lack of confidence in yourself. You say that you have 29 years of experience. So use it! Put together a resume and get to work.
Personal note: I was part of a company wide RIF when my employer started sending many of our technology positions offshore to India in 2016. I also had a ton of experience at 71 years old, working right out of high school in the relatively new field of Data Processing. Well, I never wasted any time wondering what I was going to do. The old "woe is me" adage is just not a part of my playbook. On my last day of work on a Friday I made the rounds wishing everyone well. The very next Monday, three days later, I made the rounds introducing myself to my new coworkers at my new job in the field of Information Technology. It's all about adversity and how each individual handles it. Good luck to you!
you should be looking. it's only a matter of time
Start looking for opportunity but don't tell anyone. Also, it's true the manager can't tell when an employee will be let go.
@a2 I have been applying internally for 18 months so i will keep trying. But if i get laid off, I will focus only externally
The "hint" is your IM and your otherwise toxic environment, not necessarily for this Tuesday, but do start looking. Not your fault, the world is full of sc-mbags, good luck to you.