A co-worker of mine, and a good friend, recently told me that he is being fired from our company based on poor individual performance. He has known this was a strong possibility now for three months, having been on probation with the incentive to shape up or ship out. The three months probation was really my company’s way of gently ushering him out the door to find another job, which is far more generous than any layoff I’ve heard of, short of a “retire early” severance package.

My friend is still young, has lots of relevant industry experience, and is a generally likeable guy. He promised me a few months ago that he would do his best to find other employment and leave on his own terms. I took him to lunch the other day to offer an ear for him to vent, and what I got was a peek into what Obama’s approach to policy-making will lead us to as a society: my friend was informed that he would be asked to resign effective March 6th. His response was that he wanted to be fired, which caught his director completely off-guard and scrambling for an answer. Why did he want to be fired? So that he could collect unemployment benefits. When he told me this, my heart sank just as low as when he first told me he was being fired.

It’s hard to be critical of a friend who is about to be thrown on the street at a time when the unemployment ranks are growing rather than shrinking. But here’s someone who told me a year ago just how much he loved Hillary Clinton, and I can only assume that he was a strong supporter of Obama. His actions fall in line with his political ideology. And he’s my first-hand exhibit of just how much Obama’s share-the-burden philosphy can alter our personal motivation.

Last 3 posts by Casey

• Score one for the YES side - April 21st, 2009
• Rooting for Failure? - March 3rd, 2009
• Feathering the Failure Nest - February 26th, 2009