Taking care of your anxiety of losing a job !!
Article by:
Dr. Pratik P. SURANA,
Ph.D. ACTP,
EQ I 2.0 Certified Practitioner, Chief mentor and founder,
Quantum group.
Skype: pratiksqicpl
“Take that first step. Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next.” ~Daisaku Ikeda
When I was younger I loved to climb trees, but I was always too scared to get myself down. Somehow, when standing at the base of a massive Banyan Tree , I’d forget how terrified I’d feel at the top.So I’d climb away, trying to prove to the neighbour hood boys that I was fearless, and then stay up there, clutching the bark and crying, until someone helped me get safely to the ground.
“Psycho.” “Maneater.” “Tool.” These descriptions of “Horrible Bosses” still adorn billboards across the globe, touting a movie revenge comedy in which abused workers plot to murder their supervisors.
Um, murder? Why not just, as the song goes, take this job and shove it? Turns out that’s not so simple in 2017. With a shifting employment landscape and the world in economic turmoil, layoffs and prolonged unemployment seem to loom around every corner.
This lack of job security may be the greatest challenge workers face today. It stifles risk-taking, compounds stress and other health issues, and hands even more power to the devils wearing Prada.
The 21st century started not with a bang, but with a bust. Two, in fact. First, the Internet collapse and then, after a brief and illusory reprieve in which the employment rate never returned to its previous level, the financial crash. The economy remains stubbornly stuck in second gear.
Job insecurity is nothing new for those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. Since the ’70s and ’80s, a shifting labor market and anti-worker policies have been fraying the ties between employers and employees, fueling the perception that a job is a temporary affair. Globalization, outsourcing, contracting, downsizing, and recession have conspired to make confidence in a stable, long-term job a privilege that few can enjoy.
Is there a way out? Is there a mechanism that we can cope with it better?
The answer is yes. All we need is better relationship management skills and emotional intelligence in order to sustain through the most difficult times.
With the ever-increasing pressures at work, within the community, and at home, the ability of individuals to deal with the daily environmental demands and pressures is even more critical. Cognitive intelligence (IQ) accounts for up to 25% of the variance in professional success and job performance (Hunter & Hunter, 1984). Social and emotional abilities are four times more important than IQ in determining success (Sternberg, 1996).
First, learn how to handle the psychological pressure and stress. It’s important to realize that not everyone reacts the same way to job insecurity. Your home life, willingness to adapt to change, and financial situation are much different from those of your colleagues, so don’t expect yourself to feel or react like they do: they’ll manage stress their own way.
Next, be prepared. It’s impossible to know what the future will bring, so preparing in advance can help reduce your worries, because you’ll know you’ve done all you can. We’ll show you what you can do now to deal with the feeling of a lack of job security.
Coping With Stress
Living with constant insecurity can be stressful. Some studies suggest that living with job insecurity – the “fear” of losing your job – can be more harmful to your health than actually losing it. Here, keeping a positive attitude can make all the difference!
If you’re stressed about your career, try some of these tips:
- Remember the saying “Whenever one door closes, another one opens.” Living with uncertainty can be uncomfortable, but you can control how you look at it. It can be an adventure, and the chance to do something new.
- If you’re a good worker with marketable skills, then you have a lot to offer other potential employers if you get laid off. This is why it’s so important to keep your skills relevant and up-to-date.
- In today’s job market, the technical skills you need can change quickly. So, develop your nontechnical skills as well. If your lack of job security is due to a drop in demand for your technical skills, think “outside the box.” What else can you do – and how can you prove that you could learn a new line of work? Look at your track record of being adaptable, your organizational skills (time management, team management, and leadership), and your people skills.
- Stress can result from a feeling that you don’t have control over your situation. Remember, you ALWAYS have control. It’s your life, and it’s within your power to change it. If you’re afraid that you might get “downsized,” then take control and act. Look for lateral transfers within your company, to a different department or even a different branch. Start learning about other departments; perhaps your skills would allow you to do something completely different within the organization. Be PROactive instead of REactive.
- If you’re part of a team (or if you’re leading a team), allow everyone to voice their fears. Communicating and expressing frustrations are important, but don’t let these fears dominate the group. This can create negativity and hurt morale. So, have an open discussion, but focus on what you can all do to move forward and cope.
While possessing self-confidence, high EI leaders do not have a need to demonstrate their own importance or value. They chose their words carefully and speak and act out of concern for their staff, and the health of the organization. They do not have the need to have their ego massaged and are not looking for ways to take credit for the work of others. Understanding that people work better when they feel appreciated, they are always looking for ways to give positive feedback and rewards for a job well done. Secure in their own abilities, they are not threatened by those under them and actively seek to help them work to the best of their capabilities and rise up the organization.
You need to give emotionally unintelligent people a fuller sense of the data they are missing. If you can’t name the dynamic as it comes up,then immediately after the meeting, book an appointment with your boss. Then you can follow her framework for sensitive conversations:
1. Prime the conversation: When you make the appointment, say that you want to have a conversation that will be valuable to your working relationship
2. Share the story: Begin the meeting by retelling what happened for each of you
3. Listen in: Attune to the emotions underneath the story
4. Unpack the meaning: Tell the impact that the meeting had on you
5. Move forward: Help each other figure out what you could do differently
6. Reach agreements: Sort out what can be done by everybody to address the situation
- 7. Then end on a high note: share why it’s such a good thing you two had a would-have-been awkward conversation
Prove Your Worth
If you were your boss, and you were forced to eliminate one position, who would you lay off: the person who leaves at 5:01 pm each day and complains all the time, or the person who’s willing to take on extra work and always has something positive to say?
For more, write to me : contact@quantumtrainings.com