It used to be the case that people could get a job and expect to stay there for as long as they wanted, but these days there really isn’t such a thing as a job for life, and the current economic climate means that there is an increased chance of facing redundancy.
The prospect of being made redundant can make a lot of people feel that they have no control. Something is happening to their lives that they don’t want and they feel hurt, sad, anxious and resistant to that change.
But, no matter what our thoughts are about redundancy, when it comes knocking, we have to deal with it.
What makes the prospect of redundancy much worse is when people feel that they have given their work “their all”, “the best years of their lives”, and for many parents they may have made sacrifices at the expense of watching important milestones in their children’s lives to satisfy their employer’s demands. In these situations, the void that redundancy can create will be so much greater. So just how can you cope with the prospect of redundancy?
1. Try to keep a fair balance between your work and personal life
While you may feel pressure to meet all your employer’s demands so that your name isn’t on the redundancy list when the time comes, this is a false economy.
The fact is, redundancy is usually not a personal decision but a business decision – saving money in areas of the business, for example – and your salary may need to be part of that saving.
Performance can also play a role in an employer’s decision to make you redundant, this is true, but if you are burning the candle at both ends working late, going home late, doing the chores till the early hours and starting the working day exhausted your performance at work will soon start to suffer, and that won’t make you look worth saving when these tough decisions about redundancy are being made.
2. Keep your eye on the job market
Even when you are employed and love your job, check out what other employment is available. You can do this by setting up job alerts on job sites for your sector, for example, so they come straight to your email (not your work email, of course). Send off for job specifications as this may indicate to you what prospective employees are looking for. You will also become clearer about how marketable you are.
3. Have some contingency plan – multiple income streams
Here at Motherswhowork.co.uk, we are advocates of having more than one stream of income. It is too dangerous to keep all your eggs in one basket because if the worst were to happen, you have nothing to fall back on.
Yes – working full time while raising a family can be tough, but your bills won’t stop coming in if you lose your job tomorrow! Sign yourself up to a direct selling opportunity like Kleeneze, Avon Body Shop at Home etc and start finding out how you can build a passive income so that you have something to fall back on. You can also think about having your own business – what are you good at, what do you wish you could train in and start doing instead of the day job, for example?
4. After the shock has worn off, try to look at your situation as an opportunity for positive change rather than as a problem
When one door shuts, another one opens! If it wasn’t for redundancy, Motherswhowork.co.uk would probably not be around today!
Redundancy can turn out to be the best thing that happens to you – it’s just about how you deal with the news, and what you do to move your life to the next level.
5. Do some brainstorming exercises to generate ideas about what else you may be able to do.
You’ll be amazed what you can do once you actually start putting one to paper and thinking about what you enjoy doing, and what friends and family always compliment you on…everyone has it in them.
6. Think about your transferable skills
Write down your skills and experience to date and think about those which are transferable to other areas in your industry or in another career you may be interested in pursuing.
As a mum, your core skills are transferable – how do you juggle the children’s diaries and hectic social lives with your own meetings and work deadlines without needing a reminder? How do you stay cool under the stress of this juggling, how do you negotiate with your children about missing one activity in place of another, etc without going into a rage every time or giving in? All these skills are valuable in the workplace, and they are transferable.
7. Take a break
If you can afford to, it can sometimes be helpful to go away for a few days where you are removed from the situation and may be able to see things more clearly.
The ideal would be to get away by yourself or with a friend, but even if it is with the family, it helps to remove you from your situation so you can start to think more clearly about what you want to do next.
8. Let close friends and family support you
Sometimes sharing your concerns with others can be useful as they may have had similar experiences and will be able to empathise with you and perhaps share ideas about how to manage this change.
Try to speak to someone who will offer you a chance to voice your concerns and provide you honest feedback – don’t go on the search for a pity party, as this may make you feel worse in the long run.