How to look after yourself
Many of us focus on the practical side of things when redundancy happens, but it’s vital to take care of your mental health, too. Redundancy can be an upsetting, sometimes deeply hurtful, experience. Samantha Clarke, happiness consultant and author of Love It Or Leave It: How To Be Happy At Work, shares her advice on dealing with the difficult emotions we can feel and how to move on to bigger and better things.
LET YOURSELF GRIEVE
‘People often go through a grief cycle when they’re made redundant,’ says Samantha. ‘For many of us, our job is tied to our identity – we suddenly lose the umbrella of working under a great company name or as head of a team, or in a job we’ve poured a lot of time and passion into. There can be a sense of denial and anger and, in some cases, depression. It’s important to give yourself time to grieve what you’ve lost. It can also help if you can get an understanding of why you were let go so that you have some closure.’
FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES
‘Neuroscientist Rick Hanson talks about how the brain is naturally geared towards negativity, so what we need to do is look at how we can focus on the positive experiences,’ she says. ‘I encourage people to journal and write down the achievements and successes they’ve had in the job they’ve lost and in past jobs, too.’
PAUSE
‘My best advice would be to pause before you take any action,’ says Samantha. ‘You can’t launch into something new without sitting with yourself first, assessing what work means to you and what you want in the future. Ask yourself some questions and evaluate your toolkit: “Who do I want to become? What energises/drains me? What are my values? How do I feel about the sector/industry I was working in? What kind of training do I need? What skills do I need to develop?”’
MAKE A PLAN
‘We can get an adrenaline kick straight after leaving a job but then burn out quickly,’ she says. ‘Think carefully about how you’ll keep your energy up over a period of time. When you’re job-hunting, it’s about keeping up the momentum. Find people to be accountable to, whether that’s a friend or family member, or even a career coach; someone who will push you on and support you on bad days. It’s best to keep to a regular routine and have a plan to keep you motivated. If you go about it in a scatty way, you’re likely to get scatty results.’