Having a conversation with your CEO is not necessarily easy, especially if he's asking you to defend your presence at the company during an elevator ride. It's not the kind of conversation that inspires confidence, loyalty, or a morale boost. But that doesn't seem to be this CEO's methodology, as he seems to enjoy terrorizing the underlings who are anxious about upcoming layoffs.
This Redditor has tried to explain that despite being fully aware that this is a toxic work environment, they are living in a small town with minimal quality job opportunities so it's not like there is a plethora of options at their disposal. Unfortunately, they're left feeling like they need to beg and grovel in order to stay at the company, and their CEO is loving every minute of this. It's a pretty ruthless way to lead, and as some folks explained in the comments section below, leaders should feel like they have done a poor job when the company is on the brink of layoffs. However, some people seem to live off the fear and trepidation of others.
If you were in this situation where you were tasked with giving a literal "elevator pitch" about why you deserved to stay at your company, how would you go about it? Would you attempt to give a genuine response? Would you quit then and there? Or would you turn the tables around and ask your boss to explain why they should remain as CEO?
For more stories like this, here is one about a boss who unfairly announced an employee's departure.
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