Finally, the day arrives. I went to work in the morning, bringing my backpack with me, planning to leave for the airport in mid-afternoon. As I sat in my cubicle, exhausted and wishing I were just there, one of my co-workers stopped by and said: “It’s begun.” He had just been informed that he was being laid off, as was most of the department. Possibly including me. He had received 30 days’ notice, and a severance package. So now I had to wait as our manager called each person into a conference room and informed them of their fate. Jo-Ann, Maureen, Bob, people I had worked with for years were given the bad news. Then it was my turn. I was, I suppose, lucky: I was not to be laid off until December 31, six months away. And, of course, I was not “laid off,” but “eligible to participate in a resource action.”