Author: Lorraine Collins
There’s a lot of uncertainty these days regarding job security. It’s understandable. The pandemic has had a massive impact on careers. Redundancies have soared as companies have gone bust or been forced to make drastic cuts.
As we see our employers downsizing, and our fellow employees being asked to do “more with less”, we might feel a bit like we’re skating on thin ice.
Anxiety can set in as we ask ourselves difficult questions. What if I get laid off? What if the ice cracks and I’m plunged into unemployment? Asking these questions can be anxiety-inducing. But it can also be constructive. It can be the difficult-but-necessary first step in examining your lifestyle and changing it for the better.
When faced with an unexpected change like redundancy, there are two things which will make all the difference.
The first is maintaining good mental health. If we’re already weighed down by feelings of depression, dealing with the loss of a job can seem like an almost impossible task. If we keep our minds healthy, we’ll be better equipped to move forward. That might mean taking time to check in with yourself with yoga or meditation, reducing screen time, or going for a walk in nature.
Good mental health means that if the ice does crack, then we’ll be strong enough to swim.
The other thing that can really help is having a support network. This could be made up of friends, family, mental health professionals or members of a support group.
So if you’re skating on thin ice, make sure you’ve got some spectators standing around, just in case you need their assistance! We all find ourselves flailing from time to time. There’s no harm in asking the people in our lives to help pull us out.
Life often takes unexpected turns, and we can’t always rely on job security. But we can reduce our overall anxiety by cultivating a sense of ourselves beyond the workplace. With a healthy mind and a solid support network, we can find a sense of security which might be missing from our jobs.
Lorraine Collins: Psychodynamic Counsellor, Psychotherapist and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist