How to live more easily with the fear of layoff

According to UK Labour Market Statistics, about half a million people have lost their jobs since this time last year. That’s a lot of people who’ve had “sorry, we don’t need you any more…” conversations.

And with cost-cutting measures still in vogue, how do you live without the dread of being tapped on the shoulder by your boss?

• Bring your focus back to youWhen there’s bad news around, we tend to spend most of our time worrying about stuff that’s “out there”, beyond our control. We fret about whether our company will survive the recession; whether our government will intervene to make things better. As valid as these things are to wonder about, there’s little that we can do to influence them. But we exhaust and depress ourselves in the process.Instead, bring your attention back to you. You are the only person you can control in all of this. Decide to empower yourself; decide not to be a victim of circumstance.

  This mindset is fundamental to what I’m going to say next, and indeed to your long term happiness in tough times.

• Face your demons head onWhen the threat of being made redundant is hanging over us, it can demobilise us and make us feel quite stuck. Worse, it can lead us to being less productive than we usually are, which just serves to exacerbate things.Instead of having “what if…” fears running aimlessly around in your head, watch what happens when you look at each one of them in the eye.

  A useful way to get into this is to take time by yourself, and write out all the things that you’re worrying about. What are the worst things that could happen if you lost your job? Go ahead, get some big sheets of paper and write a list. They may be things like not being able to pay your rent or mortgage or support your family; facing the prospect of it taking time to find another job in your field or area; believing that people might think less of you. What comes to mind for you?

  Done that?

  Okay, now I want you to go back through each of the things on your list, and ask yourself, if this fear becomes for real, how would I handle it? Here I encourage you to be as creative and inventive as you can be. These are unusual times and they call for unconventional solutions. So, if you became unemployed and couldn’t pay your rent, what could you do? Yes, you could ask your bank for overdraft facilities, or borrow from friends and family. But what else? Get a barista job in Starbucks; take in a lodger; get in on the anti-restaurant scene like Jamie Oliver recently portrayed and open your home to paying supper club guests… Come on, what else can you think of that would work for you?

  Done that for your whole list? It’s okay, take your time, I’m going to be here till you’re ready.

  Now, go back through each of your ideas for handling your fears and ask yourself, what can I do now that would allow me to feel more in control? Take our example above, you might want to check out the ins and outs of taking in lodgers. Or investigate the anti-restaurant scene. You could do these things now. But those are my ideas – what works for you?Starting to feel a little lighter?

• Look after yourselfWhen anxiety is in the air, we often forget to take care of ourselves.To be of most benefit to ourselves and others, no matter whether the sword of Damocles is hanging over us or not, we need to pay good attention to the basics of eating properly, exercising and making sure we get plenty of rest.

Hopefully you will never have to implement your layoff strategy. But if you’ve faced your worst fears, you’ve already despooked the whole thing for yourself.

Related posts:

1. The 10 smartest things you can do to get the most from your next team building off-site
2. How to stay in your current job AND enjoy it!
3. The Opportunity In The Silence
4. How The Threat Of Lay Off Can Scare You Sh*tless (And What To Do About It)
5. How To Re-Engage With Your Job (Even When You’d Really Rather Not)