The Party s Over

I l @ ve RuBoard

The Party's Over

Well, it appears that the great 1990s party is winding down. Pink slips are being handed out faster in corporate America than you can say, "Recession? What recession ?" It was quite a party while it lasted. Fantastic bonuses. Posh corporate parties in five-star resorts with unlimited expenses and celebrity entertainment. Never before in the history of this country had so many millionaires at such a young age (many under 30) been made so fast. In certain parts of the country, particularly those rich with tech industries, such as the northeast, southwest, and in California, real estate prices soared through the roof. One reason was the demand for housing, but the other was that those who needed the housing were willing and able to pay anything to get it ”and in cash.

If you cruise through the major business magazine websites such as Forbes and Fortune , you might notice a disturbing addition to the sites ”a layoff posting for the major corporations. Even the kids out in Silicon Valley don't look so cheerful these days. They were the ones willing to work day and night for the promise of big bonuses and stock options. Many of the dot.coms were so eager to harness this youthful ambition that they encouraged them to bring their pets to work, dress comfortably, and play foozball in the break room.

60 Seconds with Mac Angle

Mac Angle works as a Human Resources Director for ITC Corp., a small start-up IT company. He works almost exclusively through the Internet in his home office as there isn't a big need for outside office space. In fact, most of the employees communicate through the company's website. The company does maintain a small administrative office for face-to-face situations but aside from that everyone works from home. While Mac prefers to work from his home office, the one thing that drives him crazy are interruptions ”and they occur whether you work in a traditional office or in your home. As Mac says, "It may be a phone call, or the dog needs to go out. Interruptions always occur, just a different type."

One Silicon Valley website used to gleefully post the Bill Gates wealth-o-meter. That's gone. It seems that the days when the dot.coms pushed the NASDAQ to record highs are gone, perhaps for good. It's estimated that when the dot.coms and IPOs imploded, there was a loss of over $1 trillion in market value. That was followed by the implosion of the telecoms. Thousands of people, young and old, found themselves out of work and without benefits or retirement plans.

Many other hard-working people in the manufacturing and travel industries have been handed their pink slips ”people who dutifully worked their whole lives for one company only to see retirements disappear into dust.

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