On the second Monday in February, my manager called me to his office. It was unusual for him to schedule a meeting the same day that it was to occur; but, given how much intense work we were doing together regarding the budget, I didn't think about it much; and just showed up at the time he asked for.
He told me that HR had called him on Friday afternoon-- the afternoon that I had taken off, and the only vacation I had taken so far, that year. He was following their instruction, to communicate that a 'surplus' notification period was in effect. The actual surplus letters were scheduled to be issued two weeks later, on the last Monday of the month. After that, the off-payroll date would be 2 months later.
The message sank in very fast. I asked him if this meant it would be appropriate for me to seek other positions in the company. He said "yes," although he was not very optimistic about my prospects.
Importantly, this was a "big hint," that gave me 2 weeks' extra notice.
I then had an intense brainstorming session with him about the Library, both physical and the intranet website. He said he wanted to do what he could to keep the Library collection in place, that it would have to be "fully self-service," but he did not want the collection lost or removed. We talked for more than an hour, mapping out how my responsibilities could be parceled out to others, including himself. Basically, it was my corporate library mangement training from Simmons, kicking in. I started talking as if I was a consultant brought into the room, to help him chart the path forward.
He relaxed, having found that I accepted the news, as if I had been expecting it all along. Of course, I had.
It actually meant I had the opportunity to finally shed the responsibilty, which had become a load greater than was humanly possible, to continue.
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