Is Mental Health Really Being Dealt With – 6 Tips to Stay Ahead of a Layoff!
After a long week of work responsibilities, family responsibilities, and side business responsibilities – all of which I love – one conversation really struck a chord, and it involved “layoffs.”
During this conversation with a female coworker, another facility manager (we will get back to that in a minute), we discussed how a layoff once affected her husband and I shared the feelings I felt when I received a layoff. First shock. Then Confusion. Then Anger. Then Doubt. Then then then. I feel that layoff has stuck with me since it happened.
Turns out that is a similar feeling listening to the story from the coworker. Men are lost without a purpose in life. We must be engaged with an activity to be productive. Call it upbringing, or the way we were raised, or hell, the way we are built at the DNA level. Purpose is our function. With that, our stories crossed paths many times as we recounted the experience of the aftermath. Luckily, this man that I have never met and myself had great spouses to support the transition to new employment. It takes a team.
For those moments I appreciated having a spouse to keep me grounded and preventing me from spirally downward, but what about those solos out there?
Here are six tips to combat the blues of a layoff:
Constantly upskill your life.
Have a side gig that provides an enthusiastic outlet.
Understand that businesses can live on without you.
Exercise or partake in heart rate raising activities.
Save, save, save, always have savings.
And network.
These tips are useless without a real follow up for you.
Our skills are our worth. Kids make the least, minimum wage, this is obvious, the path is clear then, as we get older the more, we know the higher our wage. The old saying goes – “you don’t get paid for the time, you get paid for the experience.” This is entirely the basis for the continuation of the constant upskill lobbying. There are ways to accomplish this; self-teaching, planned schooling, college, etc. Never stop upskilling.
Your experience matters! Click the picture!
People need to see your value, encourage yourself to work on you! Demand a better life for yourself through upskilling. Try something simple, like affiliate marketing.
It’s Flexibility: Affiliate marketing allows you to work on your terms. You can choose the products or services you want to promote, set your own schedule, and work from anywhere in the world.
It Grows Your Network: Affiliate marketing provides an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and industry experts. Building these relationships can open doors to new opportunities and collaborations.
Working a side gig is a great method of feeding your passion and making a little more cash. Being dependent on a sole source of income is a dangerous position to be in. There are so many methods to start a small business on the side. As a matter of discussion most shoppers prefer using small businesses compared to big companies. Some ideas could be a small construction company if you are good with your hands, if you are looking for an at home situation try affiliate marketing, or if you have qualified experience try being a consultant, for instance if you are into woodworking, there is a market for that. The list is crazy long.
Just remember, businesses were there before you came along (unless it is a startup), and it will be there after you leave. The biggest piece of advice I gained from my coworker was – “our families become our business, not our place of employment.” Roughly speaking, family first. It is a tough line to see sometimes and even tougher when you are dependent on one income. Step out of that groove of dependency and live to your potential. Not for the pride of it but for the family of it.
There is no hidden secret here, exercise is key to so many things. There are certain exercises for better libido, exercises for better concentration, exercises for better aging, but in the end, it is exercise that is the best for your body. Just get out and do something to raise that heart rate. The heart rate is the linchpin to the other tips, without a strong heart muscle the rest are just the sides on the dish.
The last two go hand in hand, saving and networking. I place these two together to show the need to find balance in moderation. The rule of thumb is that you should have 6 months of bills saved in the bank at any given time. This is sound advice. Networking is the opposite, spending money (not a lot) to go out and meet people. Not to be mistaken for the Tuesday bowling league, which is not networking. Actual networking has the advantage of sharing your expertise with other potential employers. Companies with a high turnover fear when people network because it sends the message that you exist, and your employer wants you to stay. This leads to a stronger position for you if the topic of raises and promotion come up. I have seen it a few times, coworkers have used networking as a way to leverage a higher salary. According to the College of American Pathologists “those who negotiated, regardless of gender, increased their salary by over 7%.” (Riddle)
To wrap up, whether you go through a layoff with a spouse or alone there are methods and strategies to get you through the situation. While I was laid off my mind was not in the right place. Those emotions listed above and did not know what was going to happen next. After soul searching and getting over my pride, I make it through, you can too. Design the life you want, not what your employer wants.
Bibliography
Riddle. (n.d.). Working Hard for the Money: The Importance of Salary Negotiation. Retrieved from cap.org: https://www.cap.org/member-resources/articles/working-hard-for-the-money-the-importance-of-salary-negotiation#:~:text=I%20want%20to%20take%20a,their%20salary%20by%20over%207%25.
