Immediately the information got to me that Sunday, one of my workers, has been sacked. I felt really bad knowing that coping without a job as a man wouldn’t be easy.
Breaking the news to him would also be difficult because a few weeks ago, he had a fatal accident that almost claimed his life. He was on the road with his damaged bike, bleeding, and no one could near him, thinking he was dead, but the police intervention some minutes after the accident saved his life.
“How do you break such news to someone who almost lost his life for this same job?” John, a fellow supervisor, asked.
“I don’t know because this is purely a bad news. How would you sack someone in this situation? It’s completely unfair,” I replied, feeling pissed at the company’s decision.
“Is that how valueless we are to them? They think they can just employ and kick us out as they wish,” I muttered and just left the office angrily.
I boarded a bus back to Ikorodu immediately and met my team to discuss how we can help. Sunday hasn’t even resumed work since he was recovering, and the news will be a shock to him.
As a team, we agreed on raising some cash, but how long will it last him? He can’t work for now due to his injury and might still take a few weeks to heal.
During the meeting, one of the tricycle sales guys approached me. He told me about his plan to quit the job by month’s end because he was traveling to his hometown to start a business he had been saving up for.
It was good news to me; I love seeing people around me progress and would definitely miss this particular person. That evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about losing two of my best guys at a time. It would definitely affect my team’s sales, and I had to find a solution ASAP.
While preparing my sales report that evening, a thought crossed my mind.
“What if I replace Sunday with the guy who was going without informing the company? It’s super easy, I will just have to beg the guy to keep his resignation secret."
"Won’t the company find out? I might lose my job if my little secret gets exposed, but it’s for a good purpose. I can’t watch this guy lose his job after serving diligently.”
Sunday reached out to me three weeks later that he was fit to resume work, and I had to explain the situation of things to him. He was heartbroken and mentioned that it wasn’t his first accident, plus he had given his all for the growth of sales in Ikorodu.
I felt touched by his commitment and told him about my plan. I will swap him with the tricycle sales guy who was departing so he can still have the job while looking out for another. I begged him to keep it a secret, and we reached an agreement.
Instead of the tricycle guy handing over his tricycle to the logistics department, I took it from him and also explained the role he would play in my plans, which he agreed to.
On the first day of the month, I handed over the tricycle to Sunday, and he was happy to still have his job. He promised to even deliver more than the usual, and I trust him because he was one of the best on my team.
Since he has been sacked, no distributor would give him goods, so I had to step in on that. I got goods from a distributor and loaded up his tricycle.
I gave him enough goods, and he said he could come for more since he hadn’t supplied his customers in a while. I kept in touch with Sunday, warning him to avoid some areas where some senior staff might see him, and he appreciated the information.
It was time to send my report in the evening, and I didn’t hear anything from Sunday. His lines weren’t going through, and I started feeling restless. I was worried something might have happened but tried to stay calm till the next morning.
Every effort to reach him was futile, and I knew there was a problem. I reached out to the HR and picked up his file, checking for any information that would help me reach Sunday. While with the HR, he mentioned how reckless Sunday was when driving that led to several accidents, and I wish I could tell the blunder I committed.
Every effort to reach Sunday failed, and my distributor started asking for her money. I didn’t have such money and had to confide in her about the whole thing. She became scared and overreacted, threatening to report me.
I pleaded for time and had to go take my savings to clear the debt. It wasn’t long before the company requested that the tricycle to be brought to the office for inspection, and at that point, I knew I was done.
Luckily for me, I was able to reach Sunday a few days later, and he apologized for disappearing. He made it clear that he was no longer interested in the job, and the money for the goods I gave him was just a compensation for his sacrifices the company didn’t recognize.
I was heartbroken and asked for the tricycle, which was my priority. He told me where to pick it up, and after retrieving the tricycle, I felt relieved. My secret never got exposed, but it changed so many things about me when it comes to assisting others. Any help that would require me breaking a law or going against rules is a no-go area for me. I learned a deep lesson and can’t forget it so easily.
All Image Are Mine.