Guest blog: 3 actions for those being made redundant
Been made redundant? Our guest blog piece outlines three things to keep in mind.
This blog piece has been reproduced with the permission of Wellington connector and coach, Mike Riversdale.
Mike is organising AROHA WELLINGTON on Thursday 28th November, offering an evening of fun and connection for Wellingtonians who are doing it tough.
It's tough out there in Wellington and around the country at the moment as the Government, tech, and media industries cull roles in wide ranging and sweeping actions.
No-one except you know how this feels, and only those close to you can understand the impact, but know this - you will survive.
1: Understand, YOU are not redundant.
Your role is being made redundant, you are not.
For whatever reason the role you've been filling is deemed no longer viable within the organisation you used to work within.
You are not redundant, your role is. This is isn't about you, don't take it personally, this is not a reflection of you.
Of course the impact on your life and those you hold close is very personal, but the reason it has happened is not about you.
(As a side note, you are not merely your role anyway, you are way more than whatever work thing you were doing).
2: Do not panic!
If you can, take time to re-evaluate what you do before shotgunning your CV out to every recruitment agency, friends, and ex-colleagues. Get all the hugs you can, talk to your loved ones and don't keep your feelings bottled up. Then, re-evaluate everything you know about your work self, what you do, who you do it for, why you do, where you do it, how you doing it. Allow yourself time and space to change each and every answer you come up with.
If you have to move quickly then:
- Get hugs,
- Talk to your loved ones, let the feelings out,
- Sign on at MSD, the payments may take time but don't delay,
- Get hugs,
- Focus your CV,
- Focus your conversations,
- Focus your budget.
Then, re-read paragraph at the start of this section.
3: Change is going to happen; that's exciting.
I won't bore you with theories of change, we all know the words but that ain't helping right now.
Excitement is, however, something you should know about. Did you know that it's exactly the same as anxiety - Jane McGonigal explains the science behind it thus:
It turns out that anxiety and excitement are, physiologically, the exact same emotion. Whether you are anxious about something or excited about it, your body responds in a nearly identical “high arousal” state. Based on mind-body science, Harvard Business School researcher and psychologist Alison Wood Brooks has devised an incredibly simple trick to turn anxiety into excitement....As soon as you feel your nerves, say I’m excited or Get excited to yourself. Out loud. Say it a few times. I’m excited. Get excited! That’s it—that’s the whole trick. According to Dr. Brooks’s research, this is literally all it takes to make people less anxious, more optimistic, and more successful in solving problems or undertaking stressful tasks.
It seems too easy eh - but I'm here to tell you it works every time.
Further reading
Imaginable : how to see the future coming and feel ready for anything--even things that seem impossible today (2022) by Jane McGonigal
SuperBetter : a revolutionary approach to getting stronger, happier, braver, and more resilient* (2015) by Jane McGonigal
Burning the suit : fighting back against the aftershock of redundancy (2008) by Andrew Taylor
The job-hunter's survival guide : how to find hope and rewarding work even when "there are no jobs" by Richard Nelson Bolles
How to keep your cool if you lose your job : a workbook for surviving redundancy (2009) by Kathryn Jackson
Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you : five simple steps to thrive after redundancy (2020) by Eleanor Tweddell