Losing your job is one of the 5 most stressful things we experience in life. It follows death, divorce, moving house and major health issues. Probably the greatest impact occurs when the job loss is sudden and unexpected, seemingly unrelated to our work performance. The most obvious and immediate concern is having enough money to cover ongoing bills, such as rent, mortgage or loan repayments. The emotional effects of job loss however can also hit us really hard.
A lady I know was devastated to lose the job that she’d been working in for only a short time. Her supervisor had given good feedback. He had indicated on several occasions that he was pleased with her progress in learning the job. One Thursday afternoon however, she was called into the office and told her employment was being terminated at 4pm the following day.
The Job Loss Didn’t Make Sense….
The decision didn’t make sense at any level. She wrestled with making sense of it. What had she done wrong? She was still on probation. Why weren’t they willing to provide more training support? The following few months were difficult. She doubted her abilities. Her self-esteem was crushed. She thought she’d been doing a good job, and then without warning – it ended.
Fortunately my friend didn’t allow this incident to define her. While it took time to find other work, in her spare time she had started doing voluntary work with a local community organisation. This in turn led to part time work, and career opportunities in a totally different field. Four years on, she is in her third year of study at university.
A Blessing In Disguise???
Losing your job is no doubt stressful, but how you respond to it is your choice. The choice you make will impact your future. It may well even be a blessing in disguise, possibly the perfect time to expand your horizons and consider doing something different.
BTW, my friend discovered much later that the reason she lost her job had NOTHING to do with her. Turns out the company was in financial difficulty. She just happened to be the casualty of bad business decisions that were made long before she started working there…
