Where to start
There comes a time in our lives, unfortunately, when the rug gets pulled from under us and we receive that proverbial pink slip. Some of us hear the whispers before the redundancy process is initiated with all the countless meetings, emotionally charged calls and fraught emails. Even if you know it’s coming, it doesn’t make it any easier when confirmed and it's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you’re lucky, you will get a little pocket change before you’re told to go - check those benefits with a fine tooth comb!
What to do
The first thing you want to do apart from setting the building on fire (please don’t do this), is to literally stay in bed all day — like forever. I get it, life sucks and nothing is positive about the situation. Sit in this moment but please don’t play duvet day any longer than at least two mind-numbing tv series. We still need to pay our electric bills to keep watching after all.
Losing a job has been shown to have the same emotional impact on us as the death of a loved one. So it's important to give yourself the headspace to navigate the ranges of emotions you will experience, this could be a day, week, month or even years for some. If you can, stay away from any substances, as the temporary relief you feel will only make your crash back to reality harder with a potentially negative long-lasting impact.
How to keep going
If you have anyone nearby and not related to your workplace, ask them to be a lending ear, to air out as many negative thoughts (if you find a positive one, say that also!).
I strongly recommend you go for walks, exercise, get a new hobby and surround yourself with people who care for you the most. This may feel like you’re attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro at first, but even if you do it for one minute, imagine have much easier it will be to do it for 5, 10, 20, then 30 minutes. Even Mind the charity agrees with me. If you do nothing but stay in your pyjamas for the first couple of weeks, make a reminder to do this feel-good activity at least once a day, as this will allow you to focus on a positive action. Get an accountability partner to help you, if you’re struggling.
The most important aspect here is to do quick and simple things that bring you joy. Too often, social norms has led us to believe that all of our self-worth and identity is solely founded on the jobs we do, instead of just enriching it. However, when reality sinks in that we’re all replaceable at our jobs at any given time, it forces us to look deep within and ask ourselves, who are we truly without these job titles and payslips?
In other words, your life is separate from the job you lost. As someone who worked in HR, I can say that redundancies typically occur because of changing priorities of the Profit and Loss balance sheets. Especially in the post covid-19 era, this has never been truer.
What's next
In the following weeks, I will have more tips, tools, and tricks on what to do next if you’ve lost your job and what can help you during this potentially transformative time in your life. If you would like some support in the mean time, get in touch with us!
Not all will be lost — so keep your head up.
Ciao for now
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