How Do I Cope With Redundancy Emotionally?

It’s not easy, if it was, I’d be lying. BUT there is a solution to it all which will leave you driven and determined more than you were before you started reading this. 

I was told my job was at risk back in February 2020, it made no sense to me why my role was at risk. I was in a pretty senior role and was making all the difference in the organisation I was hired to do. So I kept thinking why me and not them?

 

The whole world hit with a pandemic (COVID-19) nearly everyone was asked to work from home and it all seemed like the working from home taboo was becoming a reality to organisations and quite normal to do. But I kept constantly questioning why me?

 

I was in week 3 of working from home and the government introduced the Furlough scheme for employers to take advantage of. Within days I was informed the consultation period was now on hold and I will be furloughed. I went into panic mode, thinking the job is at risk, with potentially being made redundant to now having my income reduced significantly. How was I going to survive and how was I going to support the household?

 

3 months of not working, having all the time on my hands. I had no excuse. I applied for the jobs that were out there, got a few interviews, got to the final stages but every time I was unsuccessful with being offered the job. It was tough to hear the rejection, but what kept me going was knowing organisations were interested in me. I was getting interviews, so clearly I had some value. That’s what kept me going.  

I wasn’t going to let a pandemic stop me from being who I am and from me seeking opportunities that I felt I knew I could add value to. The time wasn’t perfect but then when is.

 

The job market then became very quiet, applying for jobs also reduced as there wasn’t much out there. So what was I to do? Clear the garden, do some DIY? Yes, all these things were done but you can’t keep on doing them. 

 

Emotionally it was all getting to me I was reading posts of people in the same boat, not knowing what the future looked like for them, the positive habits they all had was slowly disintegrating. Was I going to let this get to me, was I going to follow the same path? Well at first I didn’t know any better and probably would have. But that wasn’t me. 

 

I chose to see this all as an opportunity that I wanted to leverage on. We all complain about not having time, and the number of times I speak to people and say that’s an excuse because when you want to do something you will make time for it. If it’s something you want and can make an impact to help others you will make the time. 

 

I had no excuse. I wasn’t going to use this as an excuse, what was the point?

 

I sat in my room, looking at the walls and thinking to myself what is most important to me, what are my values. At first, I didn’t know where to start until I focused on me because I had the time to do this. No excuses!

 

In that 30 minutes of having “me time” I found out more about myself than I actually knew. Seriously I did. I then listed what was the most important to me, and kept writing; me, family, wife, kids, job, money, future, career.

 

So why wasn’t I using the time I had to leverage and do something about what is most important to me rather than dwelling, going through emotional turmoil, and wondering what am I doing with myself?

 

I listed what was most important in life, what wasn’t so important in life, and what didn’t matter to me in life. I then listed how much time I spend on each of these only to find that I am spending far too much time on what wasn’t so important to me and what didn’t matter to me in life. 

 

Now that was the calling card, why am I doing this to myself? That’s because what’s most important to me in life takes far too long to do. No excuses now right? I had more time then I had so this was the time to focus and do what mattered most to me otherwise I’d still be dwelling and feeling sorry for myself.

 

Something that my mother always said to me when I felt this way was to Fix Up son, you have it all so go get it.

 

Fix Up Chet that’s what I repeated. Go and do something you will feel proud of doing, go, and make a difference make the change you have always wanted to do. If the most successful people on the planet can do it why can’t you?

 

This is what drives me, I went out there, found my purpose, discovered my passion, and continue to develop in an area I KNOW will make an impact. 

 

Being Furloughed I lost touch with all my previous work colleagues, and then I got an email to say my employer is now lifting the pause on the redundancy process and the jobs at risk will now enter their consultation periods. 

 

Fast forward to now, I was recently given notice and I was officially made redundant. 

 

Emotions set in yes. But none of the sorrow, none of the regrets, because if I hadn’t taken control of my own life rather than being controlled by circumstances, then I wouldn’t be sharing my story, to show you what is possible and sending you the message that you can do what you want and you can achieve anything you set your mind to do.

 

When I was informed of the redundancy date I wanted to celebrate. I did just that. I set my limits from the start and those limits only increased to heights that have motivated me to grab. Has fear sunk in YES? This fear is not anything holding me back. This fear is fire, this fear is an opportunity, this fear has given me the power and excitement. 

 

Overcoming the fear is a life change but changes mean life, accept the situation but don’t resign yourself to it, we are often quick to notice things that are not working or things we are not able to do and this can limit our progress, don’t resign yourself to it, we are often quick to notice things that are not working or things we are not able to do and this can limit our progress, don’t let this be, celebrate every little success.

If you are facing the fear of redundancy, or have been made redundant, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and let's see if we can change that fear into excitement at new opportunities which could be just around the corner.