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Getting ready for job loss and preparing to move forward
June 20, 2009, Saturday
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DURING the days of the planned economy more than two decades ago, most Chinese who had jobs spent their entire working lives toiling one danwei (work unit).
At that time jobless was still condemned as a sin created by exploitative capitalists in Western countries.
It is true that many of the jobs then were just sinecures, but until recently many market eulogizers in China did not realize that a job should not be justified by efficiency and profits alone.
It is also a gross injustice that while the underdogs have had their iron rice bowl smashed to smithereens, the officials, unless disciplined or convicted, never need worry about going jobless.
In the late 1980s xiagang (giving up the post) became a nightmarish word, usually applied to former workers of State-own enterprises who were sacrificed on the altar of efficiency, or privatization.
Today the words "unemployment" and "layoffs" have lost their political overtones and are used in place of the more dignified xiagang.
Massive layoffs were not a common phenomenon in the past decade that coincided with China's hectic growth that earned it the dubious title of "the world's factory."
But the sudden stalling of the export engine exposes an increasing number of Chinese to the risk of job termination.
Martha I. Finney's recently published "Rebound: A Proven Plan for Starting Over after Job Loss" aims to help one prepare for possible job loss, survive it and move on to better things.
The author spent much of her career as a business journalist and consults for organizations on employee relationships.
In her insightful book, the "employment engagement" expert provides valuable guidance for the current period variously described as recession, depression, or crisis.
In this era, those companies that strive to stay afloat may dump you simply as part of their cost-cutting strategy, and no amount of hard work and long hours can protect you.
"Unless you have been completely in denial, you know that there is no such thing as the job-for-life contract," Finney warns.
One recent example is Intel's decision to shut down its Shanghai plant, making redundant thousands of workers, some of them holding job-for-life contracts.
Most of them got a few thousands dollars' worth of severance pay, and disappeared.
Many of the workers were trained for narrowly specialized routine in an assembly line, thus they face a grim future in finding new jobs any time soon.
"Getting laid off is more than just a career crisis. It touches every aspect of your life," the book observes.
We all know that job loss can trigger a number of agonizing emotional responses: bewilderment, alienation, isolation, and self doubt. Most need time to work through them.
Remind yourself that you are the same person as you were when you were employed, and you haven't lost the worth that once qualified you as a general manager or vice president, or another professional.
How to make use of your resources and time is up to you.
A layoff does not come abruptly. Watch for signs.
"It's bad enough to lose your job. But to have it take you by surprise is just unfathomable," the book reads.
When it really comes, boost your spirits by repeating mantras like "I'm okay" or "My family comes first."
When you have no salary, remember every penny counts.
And be as careful with your emotions as with your cash. Assess where you are in life and what you want to be in the future.
"Yes, your immediate livelihood is important. But there are bigger things in life that are even more important," Finney observes.
Consider these concepts:
Your value as a person has no correlation to how much money you possess.
You can use tough times to teach your children how to deal gracefully with adversity.
It doesn't cost anything to be kind to yourself and to others.
Self-pity will not help you. In fact, it will hurt you.
Similarly, being jobless also gives you an opportunity to assess what you want to do in the future, which is by no means easy if you are in a rush.
The following steps can help:
Develop a compelling story about yourself.
Network.
Dress the part.
Plan every day as a "work" day, as if you are going to work.
Use the Internet.
Don't jump at the first offer.
At that time jobless was still condemned as a sin created by exploitative capitalists in Western countries.
It is true that many of the jobs then were just sinecures, but until recently many market eulogizers in China did not realize that a job should not be justified by efficiency and profits alone.
It is also a gross injustice that while the underdogs have had their iron rice bowl smashed to smithereens, the officials, unless disciplined or convicted, never need worry about going jobless.
In the late 1980s xiagang (giving up the post) became a nightmarish word, usually applied to former workers of State-own enterprises who were sacrificed on the altar of efficiency, or privatization.
Today the words "unemployment" and "layoffs" have lost their political overtones and are used in place of the more dignified xiagang.
Massive layoffs were not a common phenomenon in the past decade that coincided with China's hectic growth that earned it the dubious title of "the world's factory."
But the sudden stalling of the export engine exposes an increasing number of Chinese to the risk of job termination.
Martha I. Finney's recently published "Rebound: A Proven Plan for Starting Over after Job Loss" aims to help one prepare for possible job loss, survive it and move on to better things.
The author spent much of her career as a business journalist and consults for organizations on employee relationships.
In her insightful book, the "employment engagement" expert provides valuable guidance for the current period variously described as recession, depression, or crisis.
In this era, those companies that strive to stay afloat may dump you simply as part of their cost-cutting strategy, and no amount of hard work and long hours can protect you.
"Unless you have been completely in denial, you know that there is no such thing as the job-for-life contract," Finney warns.
One recent example is Intel's decision to shut down its Shanghai plant, making redundant thousands of workers, some of them holding job-for-life contracts.
Most of them got a few thousands dollars' worth of severance pay, and disappeared.
Many of the workers were trained for narrowly specialized routine in an assembly line, thus they face a grim future in finding new jobs any time soon.
"Getting laid off is more than just a career crisis. It touches every aspect of your life," the book observes.
We all know that job loss can trigger a number of agonizing emotional responses: bewilderment, alienation, isolation, and self doubt. Most need time to work through them.
Remind yourself that you are the same person as you were when you were employed, and you haven't lost the worth that once qualified you as a general manager or vice president, or another professional.
How to make use of your resources and time is up to you.
A layoff does not come abruptly. Watch for signs.
"It's bad enough to lose your job. But to have it take you by surprise is just unfathomable," the book reads.
When it really comes, boost your spirits by repeating mantras like "I'm okay" or "My family comes first."
When you have no salary, remember every penny counts.
And be as careful with your emotions as with your cash. Assess where you are in life and what you want to be in the future.
"Yes, your immediate livelihood is important. But there are bigger things in life that are even more important," Finney observes.
Consider these concepts:
Your value as a person has no correlation to how much money you possess.
You can use tough times to teach your children how to deal gracefully with adversity.
It doesn't cost anything to be kind to yourself and to others.
Self-pity will not help you. In fact, it will hurt you.
Similarly, being jobless also gives you an opportunity to assess what you want to do in the future, which is by no means easy if you are in a rush.
The following steps can help:
Develop a compelling story about yourself.
Network.
Dress the part.
Plan every day as a "work" day, as if you are going to work.
Use the Internet.
Don't jump at the first offer.
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