Redundancy

Can you come into my office for a moment please? Your boss asks you. At first you don't think anything unusual as you have been in and out of the office dozens of times on work related matters, but this time its different. As you walk in you see your boss behind his desk and sat alongside is Jane from the HR department. Both ashen faced. What's going on you ask?

Your boss starts to speak, I'll keep this short and to the point, the company has been having to go through a period of re-structuring and I'm afraid to tell you we are going to have to let you go. Your position is now no longer required. Jane will explain to you your rights, here is your redundancy package, it's not you, its the role. Save the speech you think to yourself as your mind slowly starts to spin, your stomach turns into a tight ball and you start to feel physically sick.

Your boss carries on talking but quite frankly at that point the words sound so very far away and you only catch every other line as though they are carried on the wind across a large field of corn. The meeting is over and you are given the rest of the day off work. To sit. To think. To take in you are no longer employed.

What do you do?

Sadly this is the grim true reality of what is happenning to so many people at the moment. You look at the leaflets that Jane from HR has given you and they do offer some good advice so take it. Some people will be glad to get out as they were only slaves to the system and to them its not too much of a worry. But to others, its more of an issue. The physical aspect when news like this is given to someone can be quite unusual and can show how the human body reacts or manifests its'self. Some go into shut down, some dont. Some will go into overdrive, some dont. Others will sit, think and then start what can be the labourious and tedious job of trying to find their next source of income.

A few years ago when this happenned to me I was one of those who went into overdrive. Instantly I panicked and started to text and email anyone and everyone I could think of to see if I could get any work. Although sympathetic, all of them said no and it was not until nearly three months later that I found my next job. In the meantime however I had to sign on and join the what seems to be the ever growing dole queue. I had to contact my bank and various other establishments who I was in financial communication with and explain my situation, but then comes the predicament... How can you make the calls, send the emails, or drive from one place to another when your main body of income has just been slashed to pieces? The calls cost money, the internet costs money and fuel has rocketed so high we are practically going into orbit.

Then there is the more immediate problem of food, drink, water and heating. All of a sudden what you once took for granted is now brought to the forefront of your mind in huge letters and you think to yourself how will I cope? Well, the only advice that I can give having been in that situation is this. Do not panic. Panic leads to irrational thinking and mistakes can be made. Do not be lazy. Thinking to yourself hey I've now got a mini holiday so lets have a few days away can sometimes do you more harm than good. Do get good advice, if you were already in some financial difficulty and this has just made it worse then talk to the professionals. For free and impartial advice make an appointment with your local Citizens Advice Beaureau. Do get your finances into some kind of order wherever possible and think rationally. Little things like do I really need to get a daily newspaper when I only ready half of it anyway, do I need the all singing all dancing package from my satellite supplier or can I get away with a reduced deal - and the real killer for me anyway..... How much chocolate do I eat in a week?

I don't want to come across as condescending or to talk down to anyone so don't take it the wrong way, but I've been there in that situation and its a bitch of a place to be in. At the moment I'm still in a job and most thankful to be here which I say most days. Money is tight and jobs tighter but take a little comfort in that fact that you are not on your own. Others around you will either be going through the same experience or have been through it in the past. If you are strong enough and in the right mind you will get through and it will get better. As the old saying goes, Keep Calm and Carry On.

Wingwalker.