Careers & Employment Information

Job Layoff: Confronting Why Me?


Perhaps you saw it coming. The fall in company stock prices. The news articles about company troubles. Maybe it was just rumors on the production floor, or a creeping suspicion that orders had slowed down and there was no longer the backlog of work which had been a security blanket. Maybe it was the way management started to avoid you and private meetings were held without any communication issued afterwards.

Finally, it happened. The company, regretfully they assured you, no longer needed your services. The last paycheck was handed over, a checklist of Cobra benefits and unemployment insurance details were reviewed, time to gather your personal items allowed. You walked out in an unreal haze, barely noticing that the remaining staff concentrated on their work as if to avoid the possible contamination of being associated with someone they now saw as a loser. A few of your closer friends shook your hand, with averted eyes, and promised to stay in touch although you both knew that it would never happen.

You drove home, wondering how to tell your family and asking yourself over and over, "Why me?"

Welcome to the gray, anxious, claustrophobic world of unemployment.

Was it fair that you were selected to go?

Of course not.

Is life fair?

Of course not.

The key to maintaining your sense of self-worth through the pressures of unemployment and the rigors of job search, an often demeaning process, is to reframe your outlook and look at yourself both objectively and kindly. You are in an uncomfortable position that was not caused by anything you did, or anything you didn't do. It happened, as bad things often happen to good people.

Treasure yourself, your skills, and your personal value and learn to see what has happened to you as what it can be: an opportunity to take a "time out," to re-assess yourself, practice self-exploration and self-appreciation, and a chance to refocus your life in new and positive directions.

Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a respected Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and emotionally supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at http://www.virginiabola.com


MORE RESOURCES:
Google

Pa. manufacturing employment decline slows
Bizjournals.com, NC - 10 hours ago
Pennsylvania's manufacturing employment dropped 1.2 percent in the past year, according to a new report, in part because of automation, ...


3 News NZ

Employment law change, but no shakeup under Nats
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - 7 hours ago
National has confirmed if it is elected to power it will largely retain the Employment Relations Act (ERA). National leader John Key told a business ...
Nats say they will keep ERA but unions say wages will be cut National Business Review
National issues industrial relations policy Radio New Zealand
National to unveil tax cuts policy in first week of campaign National Business Review
Radio New Zealand
all 15 news articles


Area employment down for 8th month
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - 1 hour ago
Lisa Rands, Milwaukee-based regional vice president for Adecco Employment Services, said the staffing company actually had a better June in Wisconsin than ...


Boston Globe

Gitmo Workers Anxious About Employment Future
The Cud, Australia - 12 hours ago
Now, Gitmo employees will have to start working on their resumes again and will need to find new ways to seek rewarding employment. ...
Video: 1st War Crimes Trial Since WW2 Starts AssociatedPress
all 339 news articles


Research and Markets: Market, Class, and Employment: A ...
MarketWatch - 17 hours ago
Based on the Future of Work research programme this book will shape our understanding of employment in Britain for the foreseeable future. ...


Research and Markets: How to Prevent Damaging Employee Lawsuits ...
MarketWatch - 12 hours ago
Prepared by top employment attorneys--then translated into plain language for business people--this must-have manual has everything you need to know to stop ...


Ain't No Sunshine For Workers In National's Employment Policy
Voxy, New Zealand - 6 hours ago
24 July 2008 - "The two themes threading through National policy to date continued today with the release of their Employment Relations Policy," Council of ...
Workplace policy: expanding job opportunities Scoop.co.nz (press release)
National's Employment Policy Would Drive Down Wages Voxy
National?s policy another attack on working people Scoop.co.nz (press release)
Scoop.co.nz (press release) - Scoop.co.nz (press release)
all 14 news articles


Washington Post

Full-time workers deserve more than poverty-level income
Kansas City Star, MO - 2 hours ago
?Any slumps in employment, particularly among teens, after historic minimum-wage increases reflected overall unemployment increases due to cyclical economic ...
Minimum wage increases by 70 cents today Abilene Reporter-News
NC minimum wage increases by 40 cents Morganton News Herald
With jump in minimum wage comes debate over its worth, timing McClatchy Washington Bureau
MarketWatch - Inc.com
all 421 news articles


Boston Globe

Minimal impact
Tulsa World, OK - 22 hours ago
The seven-county metro area also added 1700 jobs in May, giving it a total nonfarm employment of 428600, according to information from the Oklahoma ...
Summary Box: Minimum wage increase may not go far The Associated Press
Minimum wage set to rise, but views vary Reuters
Govt urged to set fair minimum wage levels The Daily Yomiuri
all 86 news articles


Apply online for the Employment Pass
AsiaOne, Singapore - 1 hour ago
ABOUT 80 per cent of all Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass applications are submitted through the Employment Pass Online (EPOL) - and the number is growing ...
Streamlining the recruitment process AsiaOne
all 2 news articles

Employment - Google News

home | site map
© 2006