How to Avoid a Layoff: The Inside Stuff

The anticipatory layoff — one executed by a profitable company that isn't yet in trouble — is an important difference between the current economic crisis and past slowdowns. That's why, as an employee, preparing for layoffs is smart strategy now, even if your own company is doing well so far.

If you don't want to be among those designated for layoff, there are things you can start doing now to enhance your chances of continued employment. I've organized them into three categories. The inside stuff includes actions you can take to strengthen your frame of mind and help you maintain a positive attitude. Relationship-oriented actions include things to do that involve your relationships with colleagues, co-workers and others. And situational actions include things to do and decisions to make that pertain to your general situation at work.

Here are some tips for strengthening yourself emotionally to make your attitude more positive and appealing to those around you.

Attend to your health

If you're healthy, you feel better emotionally. Exploit your health insurance, if you have it, to get minor things taken care of. Smoking cessation is especially useful, because it helps your health, and makes you more attractive as an employee, and saves lots of cash. But don't do anything elective that will keep you out of work for extended periods, because despite any legal protections, being out on sick leave can make you more vulnerable to layoff.

Attend to your finances

Whatever might happen, you'll deal with it better if your finances are in good shape. Some signs of trouble: carrying balances on credit cards, bills in arrears, and phone calls from creditors. If you have chronic financial problems, recognize that you need advice and counseling — and get help from a reputable noncommercial agency. If part of the problem is marital, seek counseling for that, too.

Work-life balance might now mean longer hours

In good times, working long hours threatens happiness at home. But in troubled times, losing your job altogether is a greater threat to home life. If you think that working longer hours will help make you more valuable than your co-workers, get the support of your family and go for it.

Keep your personal troubles private

Foreclosure, divorce, illness, family problems — keep all of it private. When managers select people to terminate, they sometimes consider personal stability. Telling people about your personal problems probably won't help you keep your job. If you need to talk to someone, and family isn't enough, seek a counselor or a therapist.

Telling people about
your personal problems
probably won't help
you keep your job

Most important, be the most positive person you know. This is more than just acting as if you have a positive attitude. You must be positive. Do whatever you can do to make your job, your finances, your family and your social situation as secure as they can be.

We'll address tips for relationships next time.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

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Related articles

More articles on Emotions at Work:

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When we take time to express to others our appreciation for what they do for us, a magical thing happens.

Teamwork Myths: I vs. We

In high performance teams, cooperative behavior is a given. But in the experience of many, truly cooperative behavior is so rare that they believe that something fundamental is at work — that cooperative behavior requires surrendering the self, which most people are unwilling to do. It's another teamwork myth.

Preventing Toxic Conflict: I

Conflict resolution skills are certainly useful. Even more advantageous are toxic conflict prevention skills, and skills that keep constructive conflict from turning toxic.

Embarrassment, Shame, and Guilt at Work: Creation

Three feelings are often confused with each other: embarrassment, shame, and guilt. To understand how to cope with these feelings, begin by understanding what different kinds of situations we use when we create these feelings.

Contribution Misattribution

In teams, acknowledging people for their contributions is essential for encouraging high performance. Failing to do so can be expensive. Three patterns of contribution misattribution are especially costly: theft, rejection/transmigration, and eliding.

See also Emotions at Work and Emotions at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming April 2: Mitigating the Trauma of Being Laid Off

Trauma is an emotional response to horrible events — accidents, crimes, disasters, physical abuse, emotional abuse, gross injustices — and layoffs. Layoff trauma is real. Employers know how to execute layoffs with compassion, but some act out of cruelty. Know how to defend yourself. Available here and by RSS on April 2.

And on April 9: Defining Workplace Bullying

When we set out to control the incidence of workplace bullying, problem number one is defining bullying behavior. We know much more about bullying in children than we do about adult bullying, and more about adult bullying than we know about workplace bullying. Available here and by RSS on April 9.

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