My Legacy

I'd emailed a bunch friends at my old office before the holidays just to send well-wishes and all that. To date, I've heard back from 4 of them.

That's out of a few dozen people.

Initially was thinking that maybe everyone else had decided to stop tlaking to me --for whatever reasons. I know some are upset that I'm gone and haven't been able to cope with my flippant attitude about it. I know others may be listening to rumours as to why I am gone. I'd hoped they'd be able to look the other way when hearing the stories. I've heard them. They're not true.

But then I heard about one friend who became quite vocal after I'd left. She was one who both recognized and valued the effort I put in at work. And she was one who was most upset and couldn't understand why I wsn't coming in anymore. Why put in the effort? Why put in extra hours? Why be dedicated to the job when all the "higher-ups" do is whatever suits them?

People's attitudes have changed since I left. It used to be that you could email virtually anyone and get a response during any waking hour. They'd check their email constantly during working hours (I had mine running all day) and even once or twice every evening. I knew a few (and I did it myself) who would check their emails before heading in to work every morning just to get a head's up about tasks for the day.

And now those same people haven't responded to a message sent over a week ago.

I heard from one friend today and he backed that up. He's one of these "uber-worker"-types and he's backed out of an "extra effort" work and is strictly sticking to his job description. He's even started looking for work elsewhere and if they pay him enough he's gone. I could see him gone (he's that good) within days. Another one did leave for another job already and a few more are hinting at following suit.

There's no more effort.

There's no more loyalty.

I once said that when I left I wouldn't be going alone. I wonder if they thought it would be immediate, eventual, or not at all. My legacy seems to be changing the environment for everyone.