Trabalho

Getting Laid Off

Almost two years ago, a larger firm purchased the company that I worked for. It turned out that when you have two fortune 500 companies merge, there is often quite a bit of overlap between departments. So it didn’t come as too much of a surprise that the department I worked in was completely eliminated.
We were given some advance notice and a severance package, but in July 2008 we were still getting laid off. I had never been laid off before and it was eye-opening to see how different people responded to the same news. We had some people who were excited about the news, looking forward to the new opportunities that would present themselves, and on the other extreme we had some people who seemed to lose all hope in life.
Regardless of whether I got laid off or not, just being in that environment and watching people’s response to the news was an invaluable life lesson. I saw fear strike and nearly paralyze some people, I saw people fill themselves up with anger, and I saw some people take the lemons and make lemonade.
I have to admit that it was probably a bit easier for me to stay positive in that environment. First, I didn’t really like my job that much, so I was interested in the idea of finding something else. Second, I was underpaid for what I did, so taking a paycut was less of a possibility. And third, I was a “young whipper-snapper” who would have an easier time adapting – or so the older workers said.

Providing New Opportunities

But the truth of the matter is that while layoffs are often perceived as a negative thing, it really can be an open door of endless possibilities – if we let it! As I watched my entire office process the news and begin job searches, it was amazing the effect that a positive outlook had. Most of the people I would have classified as “optimistic” or “hopeful” quickly found jobs and many of them actually found better jobs paying more!
And I remember a few co-workers who had a terribly negative outlook and