| Since 9/11 almost 3,000,000 jobs have been eliminated, sent to other countries or have been reduced in scale, salary, and benefits. Despite the stock market and other economic indicators improving, it is still a jobless recovery. The major reason things have improved is because the productivity of the American worker has gone over the top. Workers are doing the work of 2-3 people. Most corporations have pushed workers beyond reasonable limits. Stress and burnout are common.
Most hourly and many salaried workers come to work daily wondering if this will be their last day at work. Fear, mistrust, anger and uncertainty abound. Lack of timely and effective communication add to uncertainty. The protection, care and loyalty of supervisors are gone. This group is in the same boat. Everyone is keeping their heads down and looking out for themselves. In a recent study from Harvard it was projected that between 2000-2010, 10-14 million jobs will move offshore and never return. Adding insult to injury every week 79,000 illegal aliens enter this country. President Bush's projection that 260,000 jobs will be reinstated every month this year seems......absurd.
More and more workers will lose their jobs and have few or no coping skills. They won’t know how to find work quickly. Many experts suggest that displaced workers should immediately write and send out hundreds of résumés/applications, maniacally surf the net, hit the ground running and take the first thing that comes along in order to bring in a paycheck.
But what about all those painful, angry emotions smoldering under the surface? Do they just go away or, get stuffed down with alcohol, drugs, food or better yet, denial? My experience tells me that these emotions must be dealt with before an effective job search can begin. If they aren't processed they sabotage most workers’ ability to write that great resume/application, network effectively or interview in their best light.
I have conceived a simple and manageable action plan that walks displaced workers through the process of dealing with and letting go of all the destructive emotions. This ‘letting go’ process works in tandem with workers job search efforts providing healthy release and shifts their perspective into a positive hopeful place. They get focused, feel confident and better prepared to plan a successful job search, interview well and land a great job!
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