My boss was fired tonight. I shouldn't know yet (I assume I will be told first thing tomorrow). Officially it will be called redundancy but in reality, he is the scapegoat for the failings of his management who needed someone to blame now a new "big boss" has started in our division. Heaven forbid they took responsibility for their own lack of action but instead they chose to point fingers at my boss (who was actually very smart and very talented i.e. a threat). It is VERY political where I work.
I am shellshocked. Stunned. Gutted. I had a bad feeling something nasty was going on and I am upset to be right.
My boss was the one who hired me and I am very clearly his number 2. We have worked very closely together since I started just over a year ago and we got on very well. He just gave me a great mid-year review actually. However, our close connection does not bode well for me. Before I heard the news, I was already questioning a mysterious meeting that has been put in my diary tomorrow with the boss of my boss. Just the two of us. The meeting title seems weird and there's no agenda.
The question is.....am I being fired too or am I being told about my boss and how my reporting line etc will change? I have a strong feeling I will also lose my job. My skills are not well utilised and I'm overpaid for what I'm "allowed" to do (I have escalated this many times, as far as to C-level but all I got back was sympathy and that my boss should let me take on more - but he himself wasn't empowered to change that). I have mixed feelings. I have been very unhappy in my role and have wanted to leave but the job market in my field is dead, dead, dead and more dead (thanks mainly to Brexit!). I have less than 2 years' service so all I will get is my 4 weeks' notice.
I don't expect to sleep tonight. I am appalled at how my boss has been treated yet somehow I have to maintain a neutral expression and look surprised when I am told the news tomorrow. And I fear I am next.
Maybe it's the shock but I am really worried that I will cry tomorrow. I do not want to show any weakness to these f*ckers and somehow I have to find a way of switching my emotions off. How the hell do I do that???