Mass Layoffs: Build Professional Cooperatives for a new sustainable social order for democratizing the division of labor, capital, technology and data

Dear Friend,

How are you?

How is your family?

This open letter is for you, if you are unemployed, laid-off, or next in the layoff pipeline of your organization, due to the cost optimization measures, use of low-code-no-code, artificial intelligence and other such many new technologies, which keep the sword of getting layoff, always hanging on your head.

I understand that it pains to get laid-off.

Consider it my compassion, sympathy, empathy, brotherhood, humanitarian drive, friendliness, or anything else you may think of in positive or negative manner. But, from?deep of my heart, I am here to share your pain, grief and sadness, at this critical moment of your life.

I am also a common person like you only. I see a large number of friends like you who are in pain at the same time, for the similar reason i.e. you all have got laid off by your respective employers because of many reasons, I am not aware of, and not willing to go deep into it.

Therefore, I have come up with a brilliant idea that as you all have the same pain at this moment, because of the similar reason, then, why don’t you share it with each other. As per my understanding, pain, grief and sadness gets moderated or relieved by sharing with each other and brings togetherness like you are part of same family.

Anyway, you have got this job you were just working with, after completing your education in schools, colleges, universities for many years. Your parents have invested a lot in you during these years of since your birth as their lovely child which they consider as the gift of the almighty.

You have the family and children (if any) behind you to whom you have to feed and invest in them for their upbringing, education, health and wellbeing.

You may also be in debt due to education loan, car loan, home loan, or any other kind of personal loan, which may be known to you only and to be paid back by you only.

But now you have been laid-off. What is next for you?

This economic and business model of organizations across the globe, consider it very easy to lay-off anyone just to maintain their profitability, share price and optimize costs. They don’t think even for a moment, about you and your family.

Is this a fair practice, for human society, in such advance stage of its evolution, in 21st century?

Is a person of caliber like you, do not deserve to stay in the organization you were working with, for mutual benefit and survival of the organization as well as the employees. This kind of master-slave relationship among employer and employees is not a durable idea anymore for sustainable survival of the human society. This kind of industrial or labor relations getting dictated by the capitalists do not take care for the pain, suffering and wellbeing of us and our families, who put their days and nights, time, energy, blood and sweat for building these organizations. The sword of getting laid-off, transferred or demoted, etc. immoral and unjustified treatment, is always keep on hanging on our heads. Can one survive with physical, mental, psychological and spiritual wellbeing in such a working environment. The very concept of the division of labor in the current industrial and organizational working culture needs to be changed in radical manner, if the human society wish to sustain itself in equitable and fair manner. Otherwise, the plight of masses living in poverty, hunger, unemployment, ignorance, destitution, exclusions, disparity, communalism, regionalism, casteism, backwardness, oppression, and frequent disasters (manmade of otherwise) will accumulate one day in big catastrophic and cascading crisis across the globe as eruption of volcanoes and hurricanes, etc. if not managed in due course by the so called leaders of the business world and political ones as well. I am not a communist or Marxist. I am being a humanist only and wish that peace and tranquility remain forever. Wars should end with peaceful negotiations with mutual agreement and mutual respect. The boundaries of religions, regions, races, castes, creeds, nation states and grouping should not hinder in the peaceful, happy, healthy, equitable and sustainable development of the universe in free and fair manner. The information inequity is becoming for dangerous now a days in the current era. Therefore, we the common people working as so professional managers, engineers, data scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, drivers, mechanics, plumbers, technicians, etc. need to think of ourselves and need to come together to bring a new social order. ?We should not wait for some God to make incarnation for heeling our suffering. We need to believe in ourselves and take charge of the situation. The labor we put in should be rewarded in fair manner and we should be given due job security and social security as well. The world needs not just millions but billions of more number of jobs, so that people can make their own living with self esteem, but, here, the few people having control of the production system and capital, are dictating everything. That should not be the durable idea for human survival.

Why even companies do business?

Is if just for making money, the prime agenda or is there anything much more as they state in their respective grand vision statements?

Is not human well being at all on their agenda?

I don’t know whether you have any savings/ investments left with you or you have any social security plan, to maintain your living for next few months/ years, till you a new job.

I don’t know what your respective governments might be thinking for your well being and survival, as such a large scale lay-offs may put any kind of socioeconomic or political challenges for themselves, too, which they might not be aware of, at this moment of time. If not, they should do it proactively, now onwards. That’s their choice. I request all governments of the world to make provisions for considering all of the professionals also as primary producers and make necessary amendments in their respective statutes, that you guys can form your own producer companies or cooperative institutions.

But now, it is you, who has to think for the wellbeing of yourself and your family.

It is you who has to pay the debt you owe to any bank or person.

It is you, whose life is at stake.

It is you, who have to make a choice now, if you are left with any choice, at this critical moment of time and circumstances of your life.

It is you who has to take a call that what is to be done next.

It is you who has to decide about your own destiny.

?But, whatever may come in life, never be hopeless, that were are holy words, which we should keep always in mind.

Still you have many things left with you about which you may or may not be aware of.

God (the supreme creator or universe/ almighty as per my personal belief) is there to help you in any manner, which He thinks best fit for you. You just need to be cognizant of it.

You may or may not believe in God, its your own choice, too.

But, you need to believe in yourself, then only you can believe in others or God.

You still have the power and ability to create and produce some value, for use of the mankind. This productive capacity of yours, is the basic reason, because of which your past employer hired you.

You still have the knowledge, skills, aptitude, attitude, cognitive, psychological, mental, social, interpersonal, networking, human, technical, business and enterprising abilities, left with you, which cant be taken from you by anybody.

Remember you and your parents/ guardian have invested a lot in you, since your birth. You are yet to fully realize the dividends of that investment, in lifelong fashion.

So, it is time to arise, awake and be self-confident, self-believer to march ahead in the life, as per your own rules to make a tryst with your destiny.?

You may think to start your business and pursue your dreams in entrepreneurial passion, if possible, individually.

Otherwise, still you have one more choice to make – which is totally dependent on you only.

It is not to create social or political unrest, but to make it sure that human beings have freedoms to choose the best possible way to pursue their dreams, in non-violent, legal and ethical manner.

All you have to do is to organize with your friends who are facing the similar pain and grief at this critical point of time.

You have the choice to collectivize yourselves in democratic way to build a grand new sustainable, equitable, durable, green and profitable business enterprise, of which you all can think to become equal shareholders.

You may select your own board members, investors, top management, organization structure, systems and procedures, business processes, technology platforms, products, services, clients, strategic vision, mission, objectives and goals and management principles, etc., in democratic, distributive and transparent manner, for the perpetual survival of this proposed enterprise

?You may think to select any legal name of the proposed organization and its nature of incorporation at any location in the world, as per your collective wisdom.

All you have to do is to make a choice.

It may be like a cooperative organization or producer organization. Farmers, especially the dairy farmers across the globe do their business, in this manner. If they can do it, then, why not you highly qualified and experienced technocrats, make it happen, for yourselves only.

All you have to do is to set aside your undesired quantum of ego, biases and prejudices towards other friends of similar life experiences and circumstances.

Come on, my dear, you can make it happen.

You can work from home, or any place of your choice.

All of you know –

1.????How to do business

2.????How to seek investment

3.????What are the clients needs and desires and wants

4.????What is consumer behavior

5.????How to work in a team

6.????How to lead and work together

7.????How to build trust and cooperation

8.????How to win customers attention and understand their problem and develop solutions for the same

9.????How to design, develop, produce, market, deliver and serve products and services to the customers, in best possible manner

10.?How to optimize costs

11.?How to develop business processes

12.?How to work in inclusive and diverse work environment

13.?How to work in physical, digital and hybrid environment

14.?How to connect the above dots and make a grand, lean and agile organization structure

All of you may not be having all the above skills, but all of you have all the COMPLEMENTARY education, skills and experiences in business, technology, engineering, strategy, marketing, finance, customer service, leadership, sales, production, system design, after sales services, communication,?compliances, healthcare and wellness, etc. accordingly, you can divide your work, processes, projects and tasks, etc. as per mutual understanding.

You may incorporate a single grand umbrella organization or more number of companies, that is totally dependent, on your collective wisdom.

I am here just to motivate you to come together in collective manner and build a common destiny and ensure share prosperity in self sustainable manner.

I have done it in rural india, for thousands of farmers to build their producer organizations and succeeded.

You can also make it happen.

Choice is totally yours, only.

Following is the link for a new group created on LinkedIn to connect you together –

https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/9300752/

Kindly ensure that you organize yourselves in courteous, cooperative, collaborative, brotherhood, friendly and human manner like a common global family of professionals and set your own rules in democratic and transparent manner and proceed further.

The destiny is in your hand. Let’s co-create it for yourselves and others, together, as a TEAM.

It should not be a chaos.

Lets make a choice.

Best choice of all time.

You’re going to create history in the evolution of human society, as a new social order for democratizing the division of labor, capital, technology, information and data.

Best wishes.