How to tackle stress post job loss

Gone are the days when people had complete job security at work. It is no longer that scenario where one did not have to worry about losing one's job

The markets are changing dramatically and so is the economy. In olden times, the trend was to get into a government or public company and never worry about losing the job as such jobs were prominently permanent. But now, with the economy shaping up, companies today resort to cost-cutting as a wild-card strategy, to sustain itself for long.

It largely happens that the employees blame themselves for such involuntary resignations, but the truth is that the individual is nowhere at fault. It is just a management decision to postpone the expansion to a later date when the economy is more fruitful, so as to get a balanced return on investment (ROI) ratio.

But, as the western culture starts to dominate, the thought process, though, changes at a slower pace. The employee is highly traumatised and is under a dilemma of a job loss. A job loss becomes as psychologically challenging as a loss of a relationship in some cases when a person is emotionally attached to the job.

It is natural to identify yourself with the job as it gives you a status in society and offers the financial freedom to live a normal life. It becomes a source of self-esteem when you are appreciated in office, for a job well done. There is no doubt that a loss of job leaves us famished and jolted. We may not accept it so easily, it may take some time for reality to sink in. The mind is boggled with questions like: "What will I tell my spouse, my children, neighbours, relatives?" You may want to isolate yourself, avoid social gatherings to hide yourself from unwanted questions. We would feel helpless and would want to blame our boss, colleagues, or ourselves for the situation we are in.

If we ponder deep into the ‘Why me' or the ‘If not' it would become difficult to come out of it. Well, now is the time to counter the stress caused due to job loss. There are a few things that you can do to reduce the damage and harm to yourself and your family. You can constructively manage the situation in order to avoid falling into the realm of disbelief, self pity, anger, frustration and depression.

Essentials to manage stress of job loss -

Discuss: Involve your spouse or family members. Discuss the situation with them. Plan out alternatives to reduce the current spending for a while. Inform your children regarding the matter and assure them that such things are normal. Few words of assurance will give your children confidence to lead a normal life;

Use the time: Do not cry over spilt milk. Do not waste your time in lamenting over the situation. Instead, take it as an opportunity to do the things that you have always wanted but could not do them due to lack of time. For example, spend some time with your children. Take them to school, play with them. They will cherish such memories. Get in touch with your old friends. Follow a new-found hobby such as photography, interior designing, etc;

Plan your finances: Evaluate your financial position. Determine what payments need to be made in the near future. Use your savings judiciously. Prepare a short-term financial plan which you must stick to in order to sort things out;

Insurance: Be sure you understand your insurance options so that you and your family can remain covered without any lapses during your search for a new job;

Curriculum Vitae: Prepare a new resume highlighting all your achievements till date. Mention all the accolades you received in your previous job. Mentions the times when you were appreciated by your previous bosses;

Optimism: Think positively and offer positive, reassuring thoughts to yourself and your family. Positive thinking can make a huge difference on how quickly you find the right job. Enthusiasm will impress prospective employers much more than if you sink into a negative outlook and carry it with you unintentionally during interviews;

Consider all options: Many a times in life, what initially appears to be negative ends up being a blessing in disguise, and losing your job is no exception. Perhaps you weren't completely happy with your job, but were hesitant to leave it. Now that the decision has been made for you, you finally have the opportunity to try out a new profession or company.

Publised on online edition of ItsMyascent.com

What should be rewarded: Efforts or Outcome?

We may begin by comprehending the distinction between ‘efforts’ and ‘outcome’. In layman terms effort is regarded as an attempt or endeavour towards a task or job the final result or outcome of which may be desirable or undesirable. Furthermore one can say that there are no available means to measure the ‘effort’ as a quantifiable variable compared to outcome which can be quantified or easily measured; Example an increase in sales can be measured in actual figures.
When a management is faced with a situation where it has to decide on parameters such as effort or outcome to reward an employee it becomes most advisable to select an approach which incorporates both aspects i.e. effort and outcome in a balanced proportion. Similar to holding a weighing scale where one must avoid extreme cases.
What we can learn from the story of the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’ (project Gutenberg’s)is that in spite of putting greater efforts than the tortoise, the hare lost the race; suggestive of the fact that outcome is not dependent on the doer of the task as the tortoise is said to have won due to the negligence on the part of the hare. This in a way leads us to a conclusion that outcome is an independent event not entirely dependent on the labour of the employee but also dependent on external factors. For example in a game of cricket the outcome of win or lose is also dependent on the performance of the opponent team thus very wisely a Man-of-the-Match award is presented to the player who has shown exemplary performance (in a way, put in efforts) irrespective of him being from the winning side or losing side.
Some may argue that the above reasoning is indicative of a pessimistic mindset of a person who may want to avoid taking the blame on his shoulders. But it is easy to agree on the fact that effort will definitely lead to a better outcome. The theory which we have always tried to push into the minds of young students by delivering a gospel to them that: if you study (put in efforts) you will pass with good grades and if you do not study you will definitely fail!
This also suggests that we ourselves have been placing greater emphasis on Effort knowing that its outcome would be undeniably better that an outcome derived without employee’s efforts, which may be better sometimes due to chance or good fortune but not always. Thus we can conclude that employees who put in efforts should not be neglected while rewarding since in time their efforts are bound to give way to sweet returns.