Termination came as a shock: I thought the meeting was about my anniversary.
How to celebrate my ten-year anniversary with Jyske Bank and what to include in my role in connection with the new strategy? These were the two agenda items that Lene Juul Løvbjerg had prepared for in mid-January. Instead, she was let go, explaining here what she did to recover and move on.
“I was excited and well prepared. I was to have a one-on-one with my manager and thought we were to discuss how to celebrate my imminent ten-year anniversary. And what my role was to include in connection with the new strategy. I had my computer ready with notes.”
She soon realised that they would not be needed. Because in addition to the immediate manager, the union representative also waited in the meeting room.
“When I saw the union representative, it dawned on me that this meeting was about something entirely different. I closed the computer and almost immediately started to cry. At the same time, I tried to concentrate on listening to what was being said about my terms, because I immediately knew that they would also be important.”
Head held high
As a conclusion to the meeting, she was offered the choice of saying goodbye to her colleagues or going straight home.
“I'm proud of the work I've done for the bank through the years, so I wanted to leave with my head held high. That's why I chose to stay and give my colleagues a hug. While I was in the meeting, they had been told that I and another colleague would be let go.”
The terminations came after the introduction of a new HR manager and a new strategy six months after Lene Juul Løvbjerg's one-year maternity leave had ended.
Hoped for a new job at the bank
“Actually, after a while I rationally understood that they had decided on a strategy, wanting something different than what I contributed.
What I was most sad about was that, after so many years at the bank, there was no alternative position for me. I was and still am so happy with the bank that it was difficult to accept that everything I knew about the bank could not be used elsewhere internally.”
Lene Juul Løvbjerg knew that a new job at the bank would imply additional training and possibly also lower pay. She was willing to accept both, if that was what it took to stay at the bank.
My second home
Both her colleagues and the union representative, whose support she valued very much, advised her to look elsewhere instead.
“I did my best to do so for a while. I also stopped using the parking area by the bank, which I always did when I had errands in Silkeborg. I’ve tried to get used to the bank being a closed chapter”
However, it has not been easy, because the bank was a large part of her life. In some of her unhappy periods, she has reread the many reactions to her LinkedIn post after the termination.
“They warm and comfort me. I usually refer to the bank as my second home. It's really a nice workplace, with many good colleagues. It’s not easy being without it from one day to another,” says Lene Juul Løvbjerg, who lives with her husband and daughter, Ellie, in Østbirk near Horsens.
Appetite for a new job
“Of course, being without a job has some advantages in terms of Ellie and my ability to be flexible with regard to when I pick up and bring her to daycare. I've also set a goal for how many steps I have to take per day, and I go jogging several times a week.”
She generally attempts to create structure and contributes in various ways with voluntary work. But the appetite for a new job is huge.
"It's not long since I was on maternity leave, and I really want to contribute to society by working. It affects me a lot that I don’t have a job at the moment; I really want to start working.”
The four phases
In the time after the termination, she applied for a number of jobs while also accepting outplacement offers through the bank and at a meeting held with Finansforbundet. There, she was presented to the four phases that typically follow after a termination.
“It was very useful and recognisable with the four phases. A really good tool to help you feel where you are in the process.”
She has reached the point where she is considering taking a step back and maybe doing additional training. She is no longer suppressing the hope for a new job at Jyske Bank.
“I miss a job with substance and good colleagues. Maybe it could be at Jyske Bank again if the opportunity arises. But fortunately, there are good jobs and good colleagues elsewhere.”
