The Layoff Drama

It was late afternoon in May 2020 and one of the student asked me what is Layoff.

Layoff was a word which springs through once in a decade or so and is limited to certain industry segment. This time around Layoff has become a common word in many households globally due to the Pandemic .In India ,the effects are seen and It is true that the ongoing uncertainty in the job market is compelling many of my friends and family members to relook at an alternate career to sustain and generate the necessary income to sustain and overcome the present situation.

Dark side of layoff

But making that switch is easier said than done .To transition successfully, the first step is tapping into your dreams to find out what you’d like to do. As one expert says, the most successful second acts involve finding “a life of meaning and purpose”. Then, assess your worth – what are your skills and talents? You can then match them with new opportunities in your chosen field. Lastly, be prepared for challenges: SWOT analysis does help one to introspect internally to check the possibilities of working on certain things.

We get stuck in the trap of “What has been achieved v/s What can be achieved?’’

This trap takes professionals into a zone of uplifting their professional achievements into unknown areas which they have not consciously attempted to do during their career.

It is a courageous step however, without analyzing the threats, one may fail and then the vicious circle of failure and brooding over the failures starts. To avoid this, it is always good to discuss with family and friends of the probable Plan B that one needs to initiate. Cautious steps could be put forth to achieve though it is said Plan B could take years to take shape.

We hear that Professionals in healthcare, education and corporate services are the most confident when it comes to job security, according to LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index, a fortnightly survey of 2,582 members.

The WCI found that professionals in India are cautiously optimistic when it comes to their ability to get or hold on to a job right now, improve their financial situation in the next six months and progress in their career over the next year. Optimism levels were lower among those under the age of 40, as compared to Baby Boomers and Gen X professionals.

Grass is always greener on the other side and the feeling of not achieving something you wanted takes you into a zone of unhappiness leading to issues affecting one emotionally.

And this emotional quotient of a person overloaded by the feeling of situation around and nothing worthwhile to do paves the way to lot of mental health issues. This time, the crisis of mental health issues will have enormous impact and will affect vast layers of the global population.

There are people with existing mental health conditions whose continuing care may have been interrupted. It needs to be understood that the needs of people with severe mental disorders who already struggle on the margins of society and are socially isolated.

The pandemic has a dramatic impact on health professionals who are struggling to cope with unprecedented demand at a time of uncertainty. The fear of contracting the infection is very real for these workers, as is the moral injury consequent to making impossibly difficult decisions about rationing scarce, life-saving, health interventions.

Senior Citizen around us : The mental health of older people who are not only the most vulnerable in relation to the risks posed by the virus, but also to the risks resulting from the physical distancing practices which increases loneliness and Social distancing makes it difficult for them to connect with their near and dear ones.

One of my friend attends to young people, not only because their lifestyle but have been profoundly cut–from their education and job market prospects to the social interactions which define their professional engagement but also because this is the highest risk group for the incidence of mental health problems.

Senior Citizen around us : The mental health of older people who are not only the most vulnerable in relation to the risks posed by the virus, but also to the risks resulting from the physical distancing practices which increases loneliness and Social distancing makes it difficult for them to connect with their near and dear ones. '

The word Layoff itself is considered a stigma in our system with eyebrows getting raised on how would the family cope with the situation. Pandemic as a whole is adding in manifold manner to the increase in Anxiety levels. Layoffs has come out of the Law textbook to position itself in every other household today as companies sometimes have no resort but to cut costs amid worst Cash flow situation. Amidst this situation, friend of mine happened to speak to me and asked what should be the expert’s tips for jobseekers.

The ideas that generated during our discussion were:

• Refine your CV: Highlight the experience most relevant to the role you are seeking.

• Network: Let people know you’re looking for a job and approach them with a Customised pitch. Don’t feel shy or uncomfortable to use digital tools for meetings and interviews.

• It is good to be honest with recruiters about the layoff – chances are they will understand. However while addressing this issue, it needs to be done in a way that highlights your strengths.

• Reskilling and Up skilling, based on where you see yourself after the crisis.

• Take Professional help in clearing your doubts and get clarity of thought.

• Finally, stay positive in your job search.

It is very essential to understand the current situation and help each other not by sympathizing but by empathizing and connecting them to people who could help them to overcome the situation.