Condition Orange Preparedness, who you’ve heard me mention before, is expanding their focus to talk about all sorts of emergencies that a person might need to defend themselves against instead of just those that affect physical personal safety. Brenda Peterson is going to lead their first new offering, and I’m really excited about it because I know it’s the kind of thing that has or will touch most of our lives at some point or another and I don’t know a lot about how to face it. I’ll let Brenda set the scene though:
Imagine this: it’s a typical Tuesday morning. You just grabbed a cup of coffee, and now you’re settling in and checking a few emails before your 9:00 am meeting. Suddenly, your boss asks you if you have a few minutes to meet. You stop into his office (or, today, log into the Zoom meeting) and realize that the Human Resources Specialist is there, too. After realizing that this is THAT meeting where your future gets freed up, you listen as best you can while fighting to all the emotions about your job being suddenly over.
Losing a job is one of the most stressful life events you can experience—right up there with death of a loved one and going through a nasty breakup. Given the current state of the world and the economy, companies are often figuring out ways to pivot, which may include company reorganizations and staffing changes. Unfortunately, being on the receiving end of a job elimination is a real possibility.
The first time I was part of a layoff, I had no parking spot in my head for something like that happening to me. I had been in my position for three months when 9/11 happened. About a month later, I was one of the 20% of people at my company who found themselves suddenly jobless. I drove home and sat in the house, trying to figure out what to even do. There were a lot of questions swirling around my head:
-Would I be getting any money from my now former employer? How much, for how long?
-Would there be any other money coming into my household? Maybe unemployment compensation? How does that even work?
-How long would it take me to find another job?
-What expenses do I need to continue to pay for, and what can I reduce or cut for now?
-What about health insurance?
After getting back on my feet, my industry and specialty meant that I was laid off four more times. Having thought about those questions before and keeping the answers in mind all the time made each one a little easier. But you, you can learn from my experience to prepare for a job loss before you find yourself unemployed. In my webinar, I’ll be covering thinking through the financial, insurance, and work-related steps to take now so you’re better positioned to handle an unexpected job transition.
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So yeah, the sudden discovery that one day, all or some of your income is going to stop coming in. I’ve been fortunate enough that I’ve always been able to choose when I was leaving a job, which makes this even scarier for me. Whether you’re in my position, worried about a potential layoff (and wondering what signs might show one is coming), or dealing with the aftermath of one you’ve already been through, join me so that we can learn together.
