3 ms·
Seems a very standard thing to say when someone quits.
by vadfa 5y ago
Seems a very standard thing to say when someone quits.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- potatolicious 5y agoYes, but usually with the consent of the person quitting, when both sides want to keep the true circumstances of the departure quiet.
- kjeetgill 5y agoI think the specific euphemism "refocuses on his personal life", as opposed to a more general "pursue other opportunities", reads more like serious illness or family disturbance. It provokes sincere concern for his wellbeing beyond a job move.
- TeMPOraL 5y agoI always felt this particular euphemism was code for resigning through being forced out as a part of crisis management strategy, to avoid a big PR or legal fallout.
- fsckboy 5y agoI think the cases you are thinking about are agreed upon by the subject, who might be a high level politicians and/or CEOs whose "lack of a next step" would "stick out like a sore thumb", but whose prior hard work and/or financial success would leave them in a position to deserve to devote more time to family. Something like that.
- hoseja 5y agoThat's like a second-order euphemism, where they want you to think they're referring to the first euphemism.
- burnished 5y agoThe non-standard part is stating what he will be doing with that time when you don't know. "refocusing on his personal life" is also, unfortunately and I am positive used without malice, kind of a loaded phrase. Without context I would always read that as "dealing with an unspecified personal tragedy" or the like. Anyway, if your point is that it isn't something super crazy to say then you're right. It looks like it was a guess, and it was wrong, and it rubbed the author the wrong way for reasons they detail in TFA.
- pc86 5y ago"Refocusing" implies he was not focused on his personal life prior and things happened which necessitated him to step away and pay more attention to it. There's no scenario in which it's a good thing.