By Denise Turney
As of September 2010, the unemployment rate in the United States was at 9.6%. That is a .1% increase over July 2010. Local government layoffs and the end of temporary U.S. Census survey taker jobs are two key components that led to the increase. Marginal job growth (64,000 September 2010 hires) in the private sector has kept the job landscape from appearing less rosy.
Managing the Effects of a Business Layoff
No doubt the past three years have been challenging. Experiencing a layoff can leave you feeling uncertain about your skills and your future. However, it is important to remember that layoffs are not new. In fact, one of the largest layoffs experienced by a single firm occurred in 1993 when IBM laid off 35,000 employees and moved another 25,000 employees into early retirement. Of course, that was several years before IBM invented and rolled out the iPhone.
And that leads to one of the first tips to managing a layoff. Incredibly challenging times shift, change and can become incredible opportunity. Keep this in mind as you manage this major life change. To deal with financial fears sit down and review your income and your expenses. Create a budget and stick to it. Focus on ways that you can bring income into your home. The new income might not start at a level that is equal to your last salary, but over time you could exceed what you made at your former job.
Strategies to Find and Land New Jobs
Network and take action to grow your income even if you have to take on a myriad of work (e.g. self-employment, freelance, part-time). You might not get the whole enchilada over the course of a single day, week or several months, but if you continue to focus, take wise action and move forward with persistence and tenacity you can start to notice your personal economic climate shift upward.
Additional advice for managing a layoff involves responding to the initial discussions that you have with your company’s human resources professional and with your supervisor or manager. Martha Finney, an employment consultant, says in the Time magazine February 26, 2009 “What To Do If You Get Laid Off” article, that you should feel free to write down points that are relayed during these discussions. In regards to reviewing and signing your severance package, Finney goes on to say that, “Never sign the severance agreement right then and there. It’s completely realistic, reasonable to expect to take that document home or a copy of it so that you can look at it with your spouse, look at it with your attorney.”
Understanding Personal Changes Inherent in Job Layoffs
Understand that change is a process. Getting laid off is the first step in the change process. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself room to experience the myriad of emotions that are likely to come to you. Avoid attacking yourself or hammering your self-confidence. You are going to benefit from having confidence in yourself that you can successfully progress through the cycle of change that a layoff initiates.
The Change Cycle, a chart designed by Ann Salerno and Lillie Brock, goes into detail on the steps that each of us goes through during a life change. Salerno and Brock list the six stages of change as:
- Loss (can create feelings of fear and thoughts of concern or caution, might be afraid to take action or make a choice/decision)
- Doubt (brings feelings of resentment and thoughts of skepticism, you might resist the change during this stage)
- Discomfort (can generate anxious feelings and confused thoughts, you might have difficulty focusing)
- Discovery (start to feel optimistic and resourceful, your energy tends to rise)
- Understanding (your good friend “self-confidence” returns, you become more productive)
- Integration (emotions of satisfaction and content arrive, you are more focused and generous)
Ways to Positively Advance After a Business Layoff
Each person moves through the change cycles at their own pace. Many people get stuck at stage three (discomfort) and go back and repeat stages one through three again. Should you experience this feeling of being “stuck” consider reaching out to a trustworthy relative or friend and share your thoughts and feelings with them. If that does not help you to move forward, consider seeking professional support.
Other effective steps you can take while you manage a layoff include:
- Get outdoors for at least one consecutive hour a day (natural sunlight does wonders for the human spirit)
- Drink plenty of water and eat a healthy diet of vegetables and fruits
- Enjoy sufficient sleep at night
- Avoid sleeping in during the mornings. Set a schedule to go to bed and get up and stick to it.
- View seeking new employment (or new ways of generating positive income) as your new job. Set aside time each day to fulfill your new “temporary” role.
- Connect with family, friends, neighbors, etc. throughout the day. Do not isolate yourself. The human landscape deserves to continue to see and connect with the amazing person that you are. Do not keep the amazement that you embody away from others.
- Network with professionals in your field
- Get contact information from colleagues you want to keep in touch with before you leave the job. This will help you to avoid feeling like you loss not only a steady stream of income but also valuable relationships as well.
- Consider taking a free or low-cost training program through your local community college. This will help you to continue to grow and expand.
- Tell yourself everyday that this is “change.” It is not a definition of who you are.
- Do something that you absolutely love and that causes you to feel tremendous joy (e.g. reading a great book, watching a hilarious movie, soaking in a warm bubble bath, listening to jazz) three times a day.
Writing in a journal is another excellent way to move through emotions and thoughts you may experience as you go through the change of managing a layoff. Keeping a journal may help you to look back one day and see clearly how you moved through this life change. What you write could also help your children and grandchildren move through life changes of their own years from now.
Enjoy exploring the rest of our site, reading and learning from our articles, including our feature interviews.
Denise Turney is a freelance writer and novelist who resides on the East Coast. She is online at: www.chistell.com
Get into Spiral online at: https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000000841/Spiral.html
Check out Long Walk Up online at: https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000000531/Long-Walk-Up.html
Sources:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10283/1093758-407.stm (Black Unemployment Rate Slower to Recover)
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/advice/20010319a.asp (Bank Rate: What To Do Once You’ve Been Handed a Pink Slip)
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1881805,00.html (Time: What To do If You Get Laid off)
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20081117/FREE/811179995# (Craine’s New York Business: Citigroup’s Layoff of 52,000 Makes History)
http://www.changecycle.com/changecycle.htm (Change Cycle)
You must be logged in to post a comment.