Chapter 28 – Disaster at Work

I had Diane, Sara, Donna, and Mrs. Turner over to my new condo for a Saturday night dinner. It was so lovely to be casual with them. Talking about work was not allowed. I made salmon with Costco’s garlic butter, and they each brought a bottle of wine and a beautiful housewarming gift and flowers.

Over the same weekend, the economy and stock market plummeted, and we lost nearly 20% of our orders almost overnight. Monday morning, I heard rumors were flying around the departments about pink slips and layoffs. Everyone was worried. Mrs. Harris called me in.

“I think we may have to lay off employees. What do you think, Savannah ?” I thought for a few minutes. I asked Diane if I could call Sara to take some notes. We sat next to each other on one of her leather couches, and I thought for about a minute.

“I feel, Diane, that since our first corporate value is to our employees because they are our most important asset to DJ Harris, I propose we don’t layoff anyone.”

“That will cost us a fortune!” Diane exclaimed. I sat and thought for another minute longer as Sara stared intently at me as her fingers hovered over her keyboard as she waited for me to say something. Then I looked up at Diane and said,

“Diane, we are a family here at DJ Harris, and I believe we must take care of our family first. Values aren’t important only when times are good and discarded in bad times. No one would dare to think of getting rid of one of their children if times were rough.” I thought a little longer. I started to say something, then stopped to think some more. I continued,

“I feel it may be better for all of us to suffer a little than some of us suffer a lot!” Mrs. Harris’s eyes opened wide.

“I propose, Diane, that you should make a personal announcement to everyone, or I’ll do it for you if you wish, but I feel it best come from you. If we all take a small reduction in pay or unpaid leave, we can all weather this out. Those, including me, who may be able to afford more, I’ll gladly donate to those who can’t afford a pay cut or take unpaid leave. This downturn mainly political and not economic, and it’s not worldwide in scope. I think it may last one or two months at the very most.” Where that idea in my mind came from amazed me; turning back towards Diane, I asked, “What do you think, Diane?”

She paused and contemplated what I said.

“What would I do without you two? I’ll have accounting work on some numbers. I’m so glad you are here, Savannah. Can you give the presentation and work with accounting since you have a strong finance and accounting background? Everyone loves you when we visit the departments. You should teach MBA classes. Have you finished yours yet? Did you learn this in one of your courses?”

Not answering her question at first, I said, “Our reserves are okay, aren’t they? And no, I didn’t learn it in my classes. I am only moderately impressed with my classes.” I finished by telling her I was almost completed my thesis.

I knew the executive floor was secure, but I asked Sara what she thought.

“I’ve been laid off before. It seemed the new hires and single people go first. I was scared, worried, and terrified to death, not being able to pay my bills.” My heart welted-up for Sara.

“Yes, Savannah, our reserves are good, and mostly because of you, Donna and Sara.”

“I disagree again, Diane. It is not because of me, Sara and Donna. Thank you, Diane. It’s not only from us on the top floor. Our family believes in our company and what we do and what we stand for. I’m willing to give a week or two of my pay to someone who needs me or can’t afford it. And I’ll still come into work. Do you want me to make the announcement? I still feel you should – after all, you are DJ Harris. Do you wish me to talk to the department heads to muster everyone in the big warehouse at 2:00 pm tomorrow? I’ll move my vacation back until all this is over.”

Next, I recommended Diane explain it in person to all the division managers and department heads, along with Mrs. Turner and payroll/accounting this afternoon in the big conference room today.

At 2:00 pm we all met. I explained to everyone that the people in their departments should come to them to donate time or money for those needing more assistance. And that the department heads work closely with their division managers. If there were any huge issues for anyone, they were to come to me, not the employee. I felt like I was becoming a corporate spokeswoman. I still wanted Diane there with me tomorrow.

Wednesday I wore a black sheath dress and jacket. At 2 2:00 pm, I saw a lot of scared and worried faces in the crowd. I wanted Diane on the platform with me. Diane had some opening remarks and then introduced me.

“Good afternoon. For those who may not know me, my name is Savannah Thomas.” I began by explaining the how and why of the economic situation we were having. Followed by reinforcing what our values were, especially the first one that our employees are our most valuable asset.

“Ms. Harris strongly believes that we should not have to lay anyone off.” There was a vast, united exhale in the room and applause. “Ms. Harris also does not feel it is a sound business practice to use employees, people, human beings to balance the books just because times are challenging. Many corporations do that, and we both find that practice deplorable, and it fostered mainly by corporate greed.” I was trying to make Diane look good.

“DJ Harris stands by our values. They are not mere words written on a piece of paper hanging on a wall that only works when times are good. We all have personal values, too, like our faith and family, but most of us also have values that we think we should have, like honesty, integrity, and being truthful. I recently read that personal or corporate values aren’t what we think or feel the correct ones. We discover our true values based on our life experiences. Ms. Harris discovered her values deep down in her gut from her life experiences, and she brought every single one of them to DJ Harris.” I paused and raised my voice and pointed to Diane when I raised an open palm.

“Because of D.J. Harris’ values, Ms. Harris strongly feels it may be better for us to suffer a little than some of us suffer a lot. We all may have to suffer a little pay cut for a short while, maybe two months max, or take unpaid time off. But you will still have a job!” I emphasized and repeated, “You will still have a job here at DJ Harris! I feel everyone in this room has a job here of life if you want it. I pray those who can afford it more may give to those who cannot afford it. I am donating two weeks of my pay to anyone here who may need it. And if I need be, I’ll gladly donate more. I love working here and for Ms. Harris. Each one of you is a member of the DJ Harris family. I don’t care if you just started today or have been here since DJ Harris’s inception. DJ Harris puts our family first. You all know families must make sacrifices, but in the end and during difficult times, they still stick together through thick and thin. Thank you, everyone, I mean every one of you, for being a part of our family.”

Diane and I stayed around and came down to the main floor to talk to employees. I’ve never received so many hugs in my life, from men and women. I even noticed tears in some of the men’s eyes.

I knew the department heads and division managers would handle it from here. Emails came flowing in about spouses laid off and how much they appreciated our support and loyalty to them. I now had tears in my eyes. I showed them to Diane, and she cried too. I’ve never seen Diane ever show emotions before, other than occasional laughter.

Diane called me, Donna, and Sara into her office before closing and said,

“Savannah, I can’t believe you said all that without any notes. We did the right thing. You are right about not sacrificing employees for profits to balance the books. I certainly didn’t learn that during my MBA studies either!” Sara said she recorded my presentation.

“I had to talk from my heart, Diane. And not from a legally written corporate statement. Now we wait and see what happens.”

Over the next weeks, simply incredible and even magical things happened. Employees were helping those in and out of their respective departments and divisions. Less than two percent of those who took unpaid time off stayed away. They still came into work. Local news organizations heard what we are doing and wanted an interview with Diane. She tried to pawn it off on me, but it graciously declined. It was her company. Diane is DJ Harris. It made National news somewhere, and stores couldn’t keep our products in stock because everyone was buying them. Our orders picked up, but still not to the necessary levels to stop voluntary leaves or pay reductions.

Diane was happy, and we both met every day with the director of accounting in her office.

“It seems we were fairing out quite well in comparison to some of our competitors, Savannah .”

“I only give a darn about us, not our competitors, Diane. Apple computers never worry about their competitors, and I never worry about ours. I want them to worry about us.” I stated. “As long as we stick to our values, mission, and vision, and stick to what we do best and what drives our economic engine, I am happy. I know this family can weather any storm.” I told Diane we should develop a 10, 20-year, and maybe even a 50-year business plan. I know Costco thinks fifty years into the future.

The downturn just under eleven-weeks, and the orders started coming back in. Employee morale was at an all-time high, and we stopped voluntary leaves, and everyone was put back on their regular pay.

I sat down and wrote a thank you email from Diane to send out to every employee, thanking them for sharing, supporting, and standing by, and supporting our family members. And as my right as a woman, I later changed my mind and have Sara write a letter to each and asks her if she knows how to put individual full names on each letter. I had Diane read it and put her electronic signature on the file. Sara printed them up and took them to each department head to give their workers under their charge in an addressed envelope.

I loved my position here at the company. But often wonder where I would be if I were still working for Mr. Medina, or if I’d be one the many that could have furloughed.

Finally, I could go on vacation.

Next: Vacation

Tags: featured, fiction, Transgender

Category: Fiction