Mass Exodus

I am so depressed lately. I go back to work after a 6-week leave and the 3 people in my old team resigned for one reason or another. All of these deicisions were made independent of each other, but the timing is eerie. Including my move, there are 4 vacant positions within the immediate department. It is quite a scary thought. As always, I feel sad when I see people leave the company, even though it's always this time of the year that people tend to resign. First reason is that they've stayed until Dec 31 to fulfill the requirement to receive the previous year's bonus. Plus, outside companies already have their new payroll budgets finalized in Jan and will open positions up. So, there is a mass exodus lately. I don't like it a bit. This time, it's the worst because I am especially close to the people who are leaving.

I like steadiness and don't like changes. When people say that change is good, I disagree. It's not always the case. When things are going great, why change it? I am beginning to worry about further changes in our company. I wonder if other people will start to leave and more announcements be made. I heard that our senior VP might leave or get re-assign to another position. This will effect me personally because this person has watched me grow in this company and knows me, my performance, and track record. But if he leaves, I feel like I'll have to start over to prove myself. It's not that I want to be promoted, but there is a sense of continuity and stability there. I don't know, but it's really sad thinking about all the changes happpening lately... So people tell me, at the end of the day, it's just a job. It's all business, nothing personal. But the problem is that I get so emotionally attached to the people there. That's why I'll have such a hard time quitting this place, even though I know I'm currently overworked and underpaid. I've been there 7 years -- with the friendships I've made, it's not easy to just call it quits. Well, who knows? Maybe, just maybe, this day will eventually come...