Let’s face it–getting laid off sucks and can be a real shock. The job you likely have been working at for some time is suddenly not there anymore. The routine you’ve gotten accustomed to is no longer necessary. The ebb and flow of the workday is no longer there. You won’t be seeing the friends you’ve made at work everyday. The sense of security of a regular paycheck is gone.
On the bright side, you are suddenly free. The huge project you were working on with the impossible due date suddenly vanished from your plate. No more mandatory meetings. No more commuting to work. No more obligations to do as your boss tells you.
5 Side Effects of Getting Laid off
I have been laid off twice in the last 12 months, and I’ve run into some issues since then.
1. Damaged Confidence
Getting laid off is like slap to the face. Even if the company tells you that getting laid off had nothing to do with your personal performance, you know that the company did not identify you as valuable enough to keep.
The Flip Side:
I feel like I made a conscientious effort to do my job well, but I came to accept that getting laid off was probably a sign that maybe the job wasn’t the greatest fit for me. Doing work that I was just good at was keeping me from finding work that I was great at. After getting laid off the first time, I took the first job that I was not whole-heartedly excited about and it showed. I would come home frustrated daily because I was unsatisfied with my job. I usually didn’t look forward to going to work everyday, and I felt horrible. You will feel happier and likely perform better doing work that you love.
2. Lack of a Title
The dreaded question: What do you do for a living?
Unfortunately, our society is obsessed with personal achievement and titles are a symbol of that achievement. I no longer have a concise title to answer this question. Since I graduated from college, I connected my identity with my work. How could you not? What you do on a daily basis eventually makes you who you are, and for me, I identified myself with job I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with.
The Flip Side:
After getting laid off the second time around, I realized that these jobs were not a good fit for me. Somewhere along the line, I got caught up with the idea that you have to find a “respectable” and “stable” profession. I felt discouraged to chase the things I really enjoyed. I didn’t consider my hobbies and interests as a realistic careers. My most recent jobs did not accurately reflect who I was and what was important to me. From now on, I’m going to make a conscious effort to identify work I really l love, go after it, and will not settle for “good enough.”
3. No Regular Income
Obviously, not having a job means no steady income, and not having a steady income can be very scary, especially with a mortgage and bills to pay.
The Flip Side:
Luckily, I read a lot of great personal finance advice early on and started saving right away. I had an emergency fund to allowed for 6 months of living expenses if not more, but touching this money was a last resort.
I made sure to put in a claim for Unemployment Insurance as soon as possible. If you haven’t noticed, unemployment insurance is one of the deductions that gets taken out of your paycheck each month. In my case, I received about 50% of what I was receiving from my most recent salary and this helped relieve some financial stress.
If it came down to it, I would find any temporary job I could find, cut all unnecessary expenses, and continue to work on my passion until it could support me financially.
4. Irregular Schedule and A Lot of Free Time
You might be surprised, but not going to work and having a lot of free time can be overwhelming. My life basically revolved around a 40+ hour work week. Now this was an empty void that I didn’t know how to fill. I had to put my money where my mouth was. I would always tell myself, “I’ll [enter your choice of large, seemingly unattainable dream here] when I have more time.” Now I have the time.
The Flip Side:
It has been frustrating and difficult to dust off my creativity and to rediscover old dreams. Some people know what they love, but somewhere along the way, I started suppressing my dreams for more conventional activities, and I think countless others are doing the same thing. It has taken a lot of effort, but I am starting to really believe again that my calling is out there, and I am taking steps to find it every day. With my free time, I’ve been:
- visiting the library, reading books that interest me (it’s free!)
- exercising everyday to boost my energy and to clear my mind
- signing up for classes that interest me at my local community college
- learning how to use different software like Adobe DreamWeaver and PhotoShop at www.lynda.com
- blogging and reading other blogs by people I admire
- spending more time with family and friends
- brainstorming and constantly thinking of how to improve on the status quo
- learning more about my hobby, photography
- looking for opportunities
Everyone has a passion, you just have to take steps to find it and do whatever it takes to incorporate it into your everyday life.
5. Temptation to Settle for the Same Old Stuff
Once I got laid off, many former co-workers and friends reached out with leads, and I am deeply appreciative of my network coming to my rescue. But, many of these leads sounded very similar to what I was doing before, and after realizing that my heart just wasn’t totally into it, I made a conscious decision to move in another direction.
The Flip Side:
Sure. This is a big risk, and only time will tell if I made the right decision, or if I shot myself in the foot. I’ll accept responsibility for my own decisions.
Conclusion
Getting laid off not once, but twice in the span of 8 months is tough, and I could easily feel sorry for myself, but I ultimately view this as a huge opportunity–an opportunity to explore interests, an opportunity to pursue my dreams, and an opportunity to take control of my life. I dream of waking up every morning, feeling the blood rushing through my veins, and being pumped to go to work.
