Saying Goodbyes

In every three years or so, the managers being in this company will either grow or shrink in numbers. While it has not evolved into a consistent trend yet, I believe that this phenomenal marvel will stay as an observable matter for a few years to come.

To offer a simple explanation as to why such a thing happens uncontrollably, I have devised a list from my lightly expressed yet debatable opinions under the guise of deliberately euphemised statements on a descending scale as follows:

3. The employee is not happy.

An employee may lose all the motivation to work in the absence of happiness. The effect is usually easily reversed by any attempt of an employer to find the source of sorrow and by doing something about it.

2. The employer is not happy.

When an employer becomes unhappy with an employee, it’s quite difficult to win the faith back.

Very little option can be done to reverse the effect and this usually ends with the cessation of contract. But there is still hope.

1. Both the employer and the employee are not happy.

Paper contracts are ripped apart and digital copies are purged. There is no point of finding a fix to mend the broken pieces.

But not all of which actions have ended into separating ways are from the list above. There are other obvious reasons that may spark an interest to switch jobs. Say for example, my friend Malou has decided to move to another company. While it is true that her decision was partly due to her continual pursuit of a greener pasture, quite a few mitigating factors also involved having a fresh start to everything.

Here are my fellow managers preparing foods for Malou’s celebration. We Filipinos have traditions that are jovial and yet quite confusing at times. We prepare foods and invite everyone when an occasion is worth celebrating, say a birthday celebration for an instance. But when someone that has become an acquaintance for quite a time is departing for good, we find such thing worthy of celebration too.  

I guess the fun fact there is that Filipinos welcome any excuse for a celebration even when it's ambiguous to everyone around.

The menu for that night included homemade siomai and some stew. In the Philippines, the elders of long ago have coined a term “Bayanihan” to name an instance when everyone is in voluntary mode while helping each other at times like this. Even in a far away place like Papua New Guinea, bayanihan can be observed among Filipino communities.

My voluntary contribution for that night is to assume quality control by tasting and sampling the cooked meals.

While there was no cooked food to sample yet, I must also assume the role of the photographer which was quite an easy job for the night.

My favorite food to sample is from a fellow manager’s specialty, the cassava cake. She has chosen not to be named but I can say that her cassava cake is unique as the toppings that she uses are from her own recipes.

And here are all the managers joining the celebration that night. The rests are seated on the side not captured by my camera.

This celebration is for Malou and Hernan’s last day on the company premises. Unfortunately, Hernan wasn’t able to join us that night because his plane was set to leave a couple of hours earlier. 

While I’m in no position to know what the future holds for these two perky colleagues, I believe that it is going to be brighter.  I wish you two good luck in your new endeavors.