Posted by Being laid off would probably be one’s worst nightmare. The feeling of uncertainty and constant anxiety of losing your job can be a traumatic experience. Most of the time, being let go doesn’t reflect the quality of your performance. However, it still affects numerous aspects of your life such as physical, mental and worst of all, your financial well-being.
For those with children and families to provide for, the feeling of hopelessness and anxiety are triggering.
In this guide, we will discuss what it means to be laid off and how to bounce back from the emotional turmoil.
What does layoff mean?
A layoff is a temporary or permanent termination of one’s employment for reasons that are unrelated to the employee’s performance but rather circumstances that are out of the company’s control. They generally happen when a company’s finances can no longer support their employees.
There are numerous reasons why a company would lay off its employees. Reasons such as the company trying to cut costs, a decline in demand or an economic downturn.
This can be seen during the COVID-19 pandemic where countless people were let go by their employers without early notice which has led them to lose their jobs during a challenging time. According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), more than 100,000 workers from sectors such as construction and administrative sectors lost their jobs during the pandemic.
How to cope with being laid off?
Anyone who has been laid off could easily tell you that the unexpected termination of their employment has been linked to the increase in depression. They are encouraged to take time off for themselves to fully process the experience.
Here are tips on how to cope with an unexpected layoff:
- Research on government assistance
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government introduced the Social Security Organisation’s Employment Insurance System (SIP) which is a social security net programme. This programme provides monetary assistance as a replacement income for those who were laid off but were actively searching for employment.
A few other government assistance programmes such as the Early Re-employment Allowance (Elaun Bekerja Semula Awal) and the Reduced Income Allowance (Elaun Pendapatan Berkurangan) have helped many people who were deeply affected by the pandemic.
Related link: How to Shield Yourself From Getting Laid Off
- Analyse your finances
The first thing that comes into mind when you get laid off is whether you will be able to support yourself financially now that you are unemployed. You must examine your current financial situation starting by looking into your savings and emergency funds. Then, you will need to compare those funds to your necessary expenses such as housing, healthcare, transport and food.
Once you are done, you will be able to determine the non-essential expenses and decide whether you will need to limit that while you look for a new job.
- Take care of your mental health
It is important that you take care of your mental well-being because it is common for them to struggle with their mental health.
There are multiple ways and resources that you can reach out to when going through this difficult process:
- Group or individual therapy
- Talk to family and friends
- Practice acceptance and gratitude
- Remain positive and enthusiastic that you will bounce back any time soon
- Learn a new skill
You can use your extra time to pick up a new skill such as coding or sewing. This can be either through online courses or physical classes. Putting your spare time to good use helps calm your mind and improves your focus.
You can start to consider what skill you are most interested in improving whether it benefits your upcoming employment or not. Temporary unemployment is the perfect time for you to learn new skills.
- Start a new job search
Finding a job after getting laid off will become your new job. Endless nights of research and preparation for the interview may take a toll but always remember be grounded.
First, update your resume and LinkedIn profile to have everything ready and set when a job opportunity rises.
Next, get into contact with recruiters and notify them of your experiences and qualifications. This is so that they can match your skills and experience to your perfect job.