I saw the movie Up in the Air last night. I had no idea what it was about but heard it was really good. I was surprised to see that the main character worked for a career transition company. I’m wondering if anyone has any comments on the perspectives given about this type of business in this movie. I was kind of shocked by the idea of termination via the internet and can’t believe that the business side could overrule the humantiarian side. Do you think this was an accurate potrayal of what it is like for the person who delivers the news? I found the perspective from the affected employees to be believable but also thought it was interesting that there was almost zero interaction with the companies who hired the transition firm to deliver the news. Is it that common that the internal human resource department is completely removed from the process? I would think their absence at notification would make things worse for everyone and the point of hiring someone to help is just that – to help, not to take over and do. My interpretation has always been that the firm provides some training for the human resource people and works with the laid off employees to be positive while sitting with the human resource people to help deliver the news. Also, the main character made a point of saying that after notification, they don’t follow up with the former employees. If that were true, I can’t imagine it is realistic to expect someone getting laid off to leave with a positive attitude in a matter of minutes, no matter who is delivering the news. I certainly hope this was an exaggerated, Hollywood point of view!
