Coronavirus or COVID-19 has recently created a wave of lay-offs and shut downs. Businesses have closed their doors, both temporarily and permanently. Life, jobs, and finances are shrouded in uncertainty. The most important thing to remember is to not take it personally. You did not personally create and distribute Coronavirus (COVID-19) on a massive scale. You did not cause your company to shut its doors and layoff 10s, 100s, or 1000s of employees. This is bigger than you.
Being laid off is not your fault
In some instances, companies cannot predict when layoffs will have to occur, and will likely try to avoid them, if at all possible. In 2008 when General Motors had to lay off over 10,000 people, they lost good employees, bad employees and everything in between. Massive layoffs are generally not performance driven, but come down to a game of numbers. I’m going to reiterate this: being laid off is not your fault. Going to that place of guilt is not going to get you anywhere. This is not to say that you cannot mourn the loss of your career, your coworkers, or your paycheck. Those are all absolutely valid things to mourn over. However, try not to feel guilty, try not to go down the path of “well, if I had just done this differently” or “if I had just taken on that extra shift”. In these unprecedented times, companies are having to make drastic decisions and put the company or the business first. Unfortunately, this does not leave much space to consider each and every employee.
It can be an opportunity
Despite the stress (mostly financial) of lay-offs, they can also be seen as an opportunity. It can be an opportunity for your to take some much needed time off, or find a new job that is a better fit for you or your lifestyle. It can also be an opportunity to exercise some of those learned coping skills or foster your creativity. If you can’t figure it out on your own, there are professionals (like us) to help guide you. You are still strong and valuable if you ask for help. Also check out our blog post on big change being scary and how to handle it.
References:
Lipman, V. (2013, January 14). An Open Letter to Anyone Ever Laid Off. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-the-manager/201301/open-letter-anyone-ever-laid
Riggio, R. E. (2020, May 16). How to Survive a Layoff. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/202005/how-survive-layoff