Company Downsizing: What to Expect If You Lose Your Job

The owners of the company that she’d worked for, for 23 years, had decided to call it quits.  With 5 children to support and a husband who had recently become unemployed, the news hit her like a brick. “Her company” wanted a divorce and she couldn’t contest it. There was no chance of reconciliation. It was over. She lost her job as the company’s shipping and receiving manager.

In comparison to the Walmart sized corporations of today, the department store that she worked for was small with only 8 stores. To its customers and employees, its profitability was never questioned though. As a customer, you expected to have to hunt for a good parking space. As an employee it was normal to come to work and be introduced to new co-workers. To those outside of management, business appeared to be booming. So, when the store locked its doors in 2001 in all but 2 of its 8 locations, both its customers and its employees were disappointed and confused. The company who has been reported as being worth $40 million dollars in 1969, had given up trying to compete with the bigger boys on the block.

My friend has since found other employment with one of the few remaining manufacturing companies in her area. Initially, though she went through a period of “shock” and feelings of despair. “How can we continue to pay our mortgage, buy our food, and clothe the kids”? Losing the weekly income they had come to depend on week-to-week, was devastating financially and emotionally. When I asked her how they managed to get through it, she said “We ate alot of beans and rice, pasta, and bread. It’s cheap, filling, and nutritious.  Money that we spent on meat, before I lost my job, now has to go towards the mortgage, utility bills, and insurance”. My friend, like thousands of other people who are finding themselves victims of downsizing, experienced the grief of job loss.

If you or someone you know has lost a job, know that grief is a normal part of loss that comes in stages.

AARP - Normal stages of grief:

• Shock - I don’t get it. I don’t even know what’s really happening here. 
• Denial - I don’t believe this. It can’t be true.
• Anger - why me? I don’t deserve this. Why didn’t it happen to someone else?
• Bargaining - I’ll work harder than ever, starting right now. Then they won’t really lay me off.
• Depression - This is real. I feel like I’m drowning. I’m sad. There’s a huge weight on me. It feels like I can’t wake up. 
• Acceptance - I feel some energy returning. I feel a bit more positive about my next steps. 

When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on! (wise words from an 82 year old man, who happens to be my father) :)

For more information about coping with unemployment, take a look at these sites. If you are currently employed but know someone who has lost their job, email them a link to this page and empower them by helping them to understand that they won’t always feel the way they do now. Things will get better.

Why me? (Magellan Health Services) “Open a dialogue with your children. Keep them up-to-date on your activity, especially reports on the success you are experiencing. Make sure your children know it’s not anybody’s fault. They may think that you did something wrong; or, they may feel somehow responsible or financially burdensome. Regardless of their age, children need reassurance in these matters. Children need to feel they are helping. Taking a cut in allowance, deferring expensive purchases, or getting an after-school job can make them feel as if they are part of your financial management strategy.”

Job Loss Survival Guide “More recently, a new type of job loss has come on the scene. Many businesses are now “down sizing” in an attempt to become more efficient, cut expenses, or in some cases to simply make more short-term profits. Employees are caught in a cultural upheaval. “Job security” is a thing of the past. People entering the job market today are told to expect several career changes, not necessarily of their choosing, during their working lives.”

Family Matters: My Bitter Half (AARP) - “Among all the reverberations of losing a job, one of the most painful is the havoc it can wreak on a marriage. More older couples are facing this challenge: According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment level for those 55 or older rose sharply during the recession of the last few years—from 503,000 in March 2001 to 869,000 by September 2003.”

10 Ways to Build Resilence (APA) “People often learn something about themselves and may find that they have grown in some respect as a result of their struggle with loss. Many people who have experienced tragedies and hardship have reported better relationships, greater sense of strength even while feeling vulnerable, increased sense of self-worth, a more developed spirituality, and heightened appreciation for life.”

If you’re ready to start a new job, we may have one that’s right for you. If you find one that you qualify for, send us your resume or give us a call at 770-517-2660 and we’ll do our best to help you make a change for the better in your life.  We have the connections and we’re willing to use them in your behalf!