Handling Survivor’s Guilt During Job Lay Offs
July 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Layoffs & Firings
The weakened economy has had a significant impact on many workers across the U.S. and around the world as many companies have reduced their workforce in order to stave off closure. Being caught up in a lay off can be difficult to endure especially with
The “survivor’s guilt” that people might feel when they survive a traumatic event such as combat or a natural disaster is often the same mental anguish or despair felt by employees who survive a company downsizing. And the difficulty is that it isn’t going to get better any time soon as current layoffs seem to present more problems and offer less hope since many of the casualties will find it even more difficult to locate new positions. In fact, February 2009 numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that recent lay offs and separations have reached their highest level in history since the program data first became available back in 1995.
In addition, along with survivor’s guilt workers who are not laid off wind up stuck doing their own job along with the work of the departed employees. This can all add up to extra hours at work, a frequently changing work environment, those guilty feelings as well as an ever-present fear that they might be next.
What is important to know is that there are healthy ways of dealing with the situation. Here are four steps to help you if you have been left behind after a company lay off...
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