Dealing with Retrenchment

[Published in Manila Bulletin, last November 2011]

Retrenchment, downsizing, early retirement---whatever you call it, it is one news that many employees dread to hear in their careers. This is because news of such means that you or your colleagues can get fired. And that is hard to swallow.

If you are part of the group that will be let go, this means loss of income, uncertainty and worries. Suddenly, it would seem as if the rug has been pulled underneath the ground you stand on. You will experience the pain of rejection, even if the termination is not about your work performance. You will experience great stress, knowing that you will lose your main source of income. You might even get depressed for awhile until you realize that life goes on. Losing your job is not the end of the world. It is only the beginning…

So how can you deal with retrenchment? How can you overcome this unfortunate experience? What can you do to survive such a fate and come out victorious in the end?
Here are some tips for people who are going through this stressful event in their lives:

Ride Your Emotions

As a natural response to job loss, you will experience many emotions such as:
Denial – “No, this is not happening to me.”
Anger – “How dare they do this to me after all the hard work and years I’ve given them?!”
Bargaining – “Maybe they made a mistake… if I talk to them, they’ll see this is a mistake.”
Depression – “I feel really really bad. I want to go home and sleep this off.”
Acceptance – “I guess this is for real. Now what do I do?”

The best thing to do is to allow yourself to grieve. Feel your pain. Cry if you have to and dwell on it for awhile. It is important to acknowledge what you are feeling and I’d advise you to ride it out. But I’d give it a timeline. Give yourself a few days, a week or a month at the most, depending on your threshold for pain. After that, you got to pull yourself together and stop dwelling on the problem and start moving forward.

Reflection

While you’re at it, start reflecting on your work life. Ask yourself questions: “What type of work do I enjoy? What talents and skills do I have? What new skills do I want to learn? Do I want to do the same work as I did before or is there something else that I would like to do or a new career that I want to pursue. How’s my family? How will they feel about this? What can everyone do to cope with the situation.”

Taking time to think about the past and the present will help you with your future. So pause for awhile. Find a quiet place and reflect on your life.

See the Silver Lining

Sooner or later, you will see the silver lining if you open your mind and heart to it. For one thing, your retrenchment comes with a severance package and perhaps some benefits depending on the generosity of the company. If you’ve worked with the company for a long time, then your years of service will give you a sizeable payout that can tide you over during this transition.

This also gives you the opportunity and time to take a short break. It will allow you to spend precious time with family. It may even give you a chance to begin anew.

Clean House

I’m not talking here about sweeping your floors and purging your stuff (although that may prove therapeutic during this time). Nope, this is where you roll up your sleeves and look into your finances. You have to organize your bills, check and update your bank accounts and see where your finances are at. You need to check how much money you still have. Check if you have loans or mortgages to pay, as well as, how much will you need to pay for monthly expenses. It is important to do this step so that you can preserve the severance pay you received and not waste it all away. This will help you survive the uncertainties since you are not sure how soon you can have another job right away.

Talk to Your Family

I know of some men who after losing their job, hide the fact from their wives. They do this because they are either ashamed or afraid to tell their wives. I think this is not a good idea. At times like these, you need your spouse on your side. She can provide you with emotional support and she will also find ways and means to save money. She can also teach the kids to scale back a little and even make it an exciting journey if she is creative enough.

Of course, not all wives will react positively at first. Like you, your spouse will also go through the emotions and she’ll have to ride it out. Just expect some stressful discussions and try to be understanding. When you show patience and understanding, sooner or later she will understand and even support you in your next decisions.

Plan Your Next Step

Once you’ve spoken with your family, you can then plan on your next move. There are generally two options: find another job or start your own business.

If you want to find a new job, you’ll have to update your resume. You can also find a head hunter to help you or you can post your resumes online. If you have a good network of friends and associate, let them know you are now free to work for another company. You can also continuously look at the job opportunities in Manila Bulletin Classified Section and submit your resumes to potential employers.

If you want to start your own business, you will have to decide whether you want to start if from scratch, buy a franchise or an existing business. Now working as an employee is very different from entrepreneurship. I suggest that you read books, take seminars and talk to entrepreneurs first before your take the plunge.

Move On

If you have no ill-feelings with your former employer and understand the reason for the retrenchment, exit gracefully and maintain contact. Who knows, they can even refer you to their friends who can give you a job or even be your customer for your business.

Of course, there are some cases wherein employees oppose retrenchments and they battle it out in court with their former employers. There’s really nothing wrong with that if you have the legal basis and resources to do so. If in case you want to battle it out, think about it carefully and fight for your rights if you must. But don’t make it your career to stay stuck in battle. File the legal charges if you will, but you have to move on still. You have to deal with your emotions positively, you still have to find sources of income and make sure that your family is well-provided for. So don’t stay stuck. Move on.