How to bounce back after retrenchment

How to bounce back after retrenchment or a job loss. Got retrenched? Here’s how to recover and step up

One of the most devastating feelings is the realization of the loss of your income. It puts you in an immediate spiral of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty.

Retrenchment affects you emotionally and the whole process can be experienced as traumatic. Sadly, it does not only affect the laid-off employee but also those who are still employed with the company. The secret of bouncing back after a retrenchment process is key for your survival and future independence.

South Africa is currently at a 35,2% unemployment rate, which is understandably an amplifier to all the fears and anxiety. It’s devastating stats if you have been retrenched and are forced back in line with the other thousands and thousands of job seekers.

How do you bounce back and recover after retrenchment? Here are ten tips to get back on track and stay focused to align yourself for the next best thing:

Involve your family immediately and strengthen your support system

If you have been retrenched, you shouldn’t go through this alone to bounce back. For many of us it is difficult to be on the receiving end of support, and most probably the most challenging one to address. It asks us to show our vulnerability and dependability to our support system.

If you are alone, and you do not have family, friends, or an ex-colleague with who you could talk to, and share your fears and worries, this retrenchment could get you down quite quickly. Most of the time all we need is a soundboard to put everything into perspective to bounce back.

The importance of our support system is vital for our wellbeing and contributes to the way we will position ourselves in the future. It is in times like these we allow our family and friends to give back to us, whether it is financially, emotionally, or spiritually, and brings us closer to humanity. It strengthens our core values of Family, Friends, and Support. Don’t tackle this alone.

How to bounce back after retrenchment

Assess your rights and ensure that you have received all benefits allowed to bounce back.

There are a lot of resources available online to know your rights once you have been retrenched. If this isn’t your area of speciality make sure to connect with a financial coach or an accountability partner, which can view and advise on your rights from an objective point of view.

One of my clients, who has worked for the company for over 15 years, accepted his retrenchment without questioning what was due to him. He was comfortable accepting a 3-month severance package. After consulting with a labour lawyer he realized he qualified for 30 weeks of remuneration from the same company.  This bought him an additional four months of income.

Re-adjust your personal budget and speak to your creditors

Even if you receive a severance payout, you still need to have a plan for how you will tackle your financial commitments in the months to come.

Deal with the emotions, then park it to bounce back.

Emotions are rife when we hear the devastating news that we have been retrenched and our livelihood has been taken away from us.

Most of the time, a process has been followed and we are aware of what might happen, yet we hope that this time we will be safe.

Whether we are expecting it or not, the shock is the same. Anger, disbelief, fear, disappointment and resentment follow suit… and it is in these moments that we must acknowledge the emotions, understand why we are having the feelings, and then park it.

It isn’t simple. “I am angry, disappointed, ashamed, and anxious that I have just lost my job.” All of the above feelings are symptoms of underlying deeper core values. Let me explain: If job security, independence, stability, fairness are part of your core values, the emotions derive from them and this will direct you on what you should focus on as a next step.

Thus, in this case, you will have to focus on new opportunities that would give you independence, stability, etc to bounce back. If you balance these core values you will be able to move on.

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