Am I getting quietly fired?

Question

I have taken a role as a junior developer at an esteemed company. I have been working extra hours at the end of most days to improve my skills since I started working this position. Maybe it is coincidence, but I believe that my commitment has led to me being the sole developer on multiple projects.While new tasks and work is occasionally assigned, the workload seems to be decreasing over all. I'm not sure whether this is because there are no new clients, or because the management won't let me take on new projects. I should say that the company has also slowed down their hiring process.I'm worried that since I'm not as skilled and extraverted as my colleagues, I'm more likely to dispose. Not only that, but I'm unsure whether this anxious feeling is justified or that I'm actually getting quietly fired.Any advice on how to deal with this situation?

hinata08 · Accepted Answer

Some managers like to assign projects to people. It makes it easier to understand who does what, and whom you should see
but when they don't have new requests for you, they won't always create them out of thin air (they are busy, and you know the app better than them anyway)
Propose ! You can use your knowledge of these projects to refactor code, or improve them ! Improve the code ! Improve CI/CD !
You can also have a conversation with your manager, to ask him for what will come next.
Also, don't worry about some large companies. They have solid finances, and HR don't care if some employees spend a few weeks, sometimes months, without a lot of work. They will assign them to new tasks as needed.

p0d · Answer

Relationships, health, work.It took me many years to cultivate the following understanding. I am doing the best work I can here, if it isn't good enough, let me go.This understanding helped me understand my own self-worth. It also helped me overcome the anxiety of worrying too much about what may/may not happen or what others think.So put your work in context. Focus more on relationships and health. There is always work for those who want to work.

nashashmi · Answer

Being the sole developer on projects as a junior engineer means any of the following:
* the company has less need for those projects
* the company has less importance for those projects
* the company is likely to forget those projects
* a junior developer is not a heavy cost to the company so he is more likely to be kept
* any developer can be replace a junior developer
* the company head is erratic and unreliable for anyone to be secure
All in all, don't rely on your projects as job security

labrador · Answer

> the sole developer on multiple projects
This should give you some protection
> developer at an esteemed company
What is your company reporting to the financial press? What are you hearing internally about the prospects of the company?
That said, you should always be prepared to be dumped into the job market. Have your resume and references ready.

jstx1 · Answer

There's nothing in what you wrote that suggests that you could be fired / laid off. Of course anyone could be fired / laid off even without much of a warning but you're making a big leap from "workload is decreasing" to "am I being fired".

patrogizmo · Answer

Trust your gut. Start looking for another position now. You don't want to wait for someone else to tell you your future.As a side-note, recognize that people lie to prevent panic. It may quickly turn from "you are indispensable" to "your position has been eliminated".

yuppie_scum · Answer

So what if they do? You&rsquo;ll get a nice severance and be able to hunt for a job full-time.

withinboredom · Answer

This has happened to me twice in my career. If you’ve got a nagging feeling, start looking. You could be wrong, and you’ll come out knowing your worth in the market better. You could be right, and you’ll come out with a severance package and a new job lined up.
This can also be a self-fulfilling prophecy. IOW, you can usually spot someone looking for a new job a mile away, especially if they’re new to the industry. Thus if they do “trim the fat” they know you’re prepared and if they have to choose between someone who has a family and obviously not prepared vs. someone who is obviously prepared … they’ll choose the person who can land on their feet.
TL;DR: Be prepared if you feel like you need to, but keep in mind that being prepared for getting laid off might be what gets you laid off.

Am I getting quietly fired?

There's nothing in what you wrote that suggests that you could be fired / laid off. Of course anyone could be fired / laid off even without much of a warning but you're making a big leap from "workload is decreasing" to "am I being fired".

Trust your gut. Start looking for another position now. You don't want to wait for someone else to tell you your future.
As a side-note, recognize that people lie to prevent panic. It may quickly turn from "you are indispensable" to "your position has been eliminated".

So what if they do? You’ll get a nice severance and be able to hunt for a job full-time.