Well not everyone.  But about half of the office are on tenderhooks this weekend.  Its likely that applicants for the redundancy package will find out tomorrow (or on tuesday of next week) who has to stay and who has to go.

250 will be leaving by the end of the year but we hear that more than three times that number have applied.  Within sight of my desk are at least sixteen people who have applied to go.  Others are waiting, hoping to step into the shoes of those on the way out and still others are worried that they might be forced to do some work for a change.

As a result there is more than the usual levels of irritibility, especially for a friday.  I'm especially enjoying sending meeting planners to people hoping to leave, for workshops taking place monthly until the 1st April 2012.   Telling them that their line manager has confirmed that they are just the person for the job seems to make them a little paranoid for a while.

We'll be the third section getting their leaving (or not) letters.  In the first department the whole place seemed to be crying.  There were people crying because they were going, and that meant they were not valued, because they were staying and wanted to go.  They were crying because they were staying but their mates were leaving and there were even a few people who were just crying, because everyone else was. 

No sign of that reaction here just yet, but a lot of people are in vaguely irritable moods.  Others have simply disengaged.  Its a very strange atmosphere but one ripe for wind-ups.