The Office Cleaner-Outer

The word is whispered around a cubicle wall- layoffs.

The office productivity stops. Employees look around to see if anybody is missing. The conference room door is closed and the managers are all in there. The rumors are confirmed by cars leaving the parking lot too early in the day. Nobody breathes. Finally, management makes the official announcement of what everybody already knows- there have been some layoffs within the organization today. They assure the staff that they are complete and that there will be no more for the time being. Everyone returns to work, shaken but glad that the layoffs are over.

But they really aren’t over yet. Somebody has to clean out the belongings of the people that were escorted out of the building. That’s my job- the “Office Cleaner-Outer.”

I’ve packed up many boxes over my management career. More than any other part of the layoff process, this is the toughest one for me. It gives you an intimate look into the window of your employee’s lives- one that you probably should have made a greater effort to know when you still had the chance.

When you clean out an office, you collect up all the pictures of these people that you don’t recognize. There are prescription bottles for people that you didn’t know were sick. Then there are the mementos- a fortune out of a cookie that has been taped up on the computer monitor. Some dried flowers from a special occasion. And a goofy email that was funny enough to be printed and tacked up on a bulletin board. All of these artifacts give you great insight into your ex-employee’s life.

Cleaning out offices has had an interesting side effect on my own office; I’ve removed almost all of my personal belongings. Is it because I understand so well how fleeting employment can be? Or because I don’t want anybody intruding on my personal space? No- it is for a more practical reason. The mom in me doesn’t want anybody to have to “pick up after me” if I’m ever laid off. There is a small cardboard box in one drawer that contains all my personal items except a couple of family pictures. I can wipe away all memory of my existence from that office in the same amount of time it takes me to grab my purse.

I’m being sentimental, but I am really thankful for this role. It forces me to think long and hard about the lives I will disrupt before I make decisions about letting people go. I think that everyone who has the power to reduce headcount should also hold the responsibility of cleaning out offices after the people are gone. What is the antidote for the remorse of the Office Cleaner-Outer? Sit and relax with your employees regularly, noticing their decorations in their offices and cubicles. Each item holds a story that they would love to tell you. Know them- really know them- while you can.