On a different tangent, but C19 related in the current job environment
This is a befuddling story.....in the middle of what may be the worst unemployment since the depression.
I know of this second-hand, but at very close range, and it has happened over the last week.
A person has a full-time tenured position, at ~$150,000pa, and has been in the job for around 18 months. They have a PhD, but it is not strictly in the field of the job title. In other words, this is no dummy. They are surrounded by similarly qualified, highly educated people. They have been recently unhappy about being undermined, both from above and below, with the underling apparently engaging in shouting during a Zoom meeting last Friday. The meeting was called by the person in question so as to resolve the difficulty with the underling if at all possible.
Not so long ago, this person had saved the underling's skin from some other kerfuffle where they had behaved badly towards another staff member.
The person had already decided to go on 5 weeks annual leave starting from this week, and was going to consider their position in that time, which they were regarding as untenable. They were basically thinking of resigning. I had discussed this with the "second-hand" person who related the story to me, and my view of it was that to resign was lunacy in the current environment, and virtually at the end of a career (63 years old).
As it turns out, the five week leave was not used for consideration, and they submitted their resignation yesterday. :doh:
There are times when you need to stand up for yourself, and have the courage of your convictions. There are other times - extraordinary times - when it might be smarter to lay low for a while, and maybe even ride out the storm. As I said last night, the person will feel very foolish indeed if the underling is independently brought to heel if or when they are discovered to be "unsuitable" for their own job (which would seem to be the case).
Good luck finding another job....of any kind....ever.