RETRENCHED

Retrenchments are a reality that occur more than we realise in South Africa and globally. And no industry is safe – from manufacturing and telecommunications to agriculture, all sectors are feeling the pinch of inflation.

Journalist Ditsego, 35, had enjoyed an illustrious career reporting for a wellknown daily publication, until two years ago when she got retrenched. “I took the package and used the pay-out to settle my car and set up an office in my apartment so I could work as a freelancer.”

Ditsego was able to turn her experience into something positive – she now works for herself. “It was while working on a story that I overheard that the production house I was commissioned by was looking for someone to manage their public relations. I approached the company with a proposal and I was hired on the spot. That’s how I came to own my PR firm.”

How many professionals are scared to take the plunge and call it quits to start their own business, or move to a different industry altogether?

According to Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate went up to 27% in the third quarter of 2016, which is the highest since 2004. “Retrenchments are but one of many complex and rapid changes in the economy and in the country. Constant, continuous and complex change and its implications are the norm,” explains psychology specialist Katlego Kolobe adding. “This will continue to become more and more intense. The term for this phenomenon is ‘replexity’, meaning rapid and complex changes due