Laid off, now everyone is leaving.

I was laid off a few months ago due to corporate restructuring. We were a team of 14, and 6 were let go. However, I had been dealing with an insubordinate employee (IE) that was going around disparaging me and other team members to anyone who would listen. I know that he created negative perceptions around us that influenced the lay-offs.

Ok, that's fine. I have collected my severance and am happy to be free of the toxic workplace.

I hear that the IE was very happy that he 'won'. Leadership even asked some of the remaining team members if they feel like the culture is better now. However, since then, people keep resigning. There are now 4 people left: IE, his direct report, and 2 people that I know are looking for new jobs. Even IE's best buddy on the team decided to leave.

The kicker is that one of IE's grievances was that he believed he knew better than everyone else on the team and could deliver their work faster and cheaper. Think the equivalent of someone who has never coded before thinking he knows how to build a website better than a software engineer. Unsurprisingly, whenever he was given the opportunity to follow through, he was unable to articulate the details or provide actionable solutions beyond complaining. He got away with this because myself and others tried to mentor and educate him.

Now, he has no one to hide behind anymore. People are leaving and contradicting his narratives. His projects are falling behind. And I'm sipping margheritas enjoying it all come crashing down.