Monday, July 6, 2009

How quickly things can change!

The phone call! Who expected it? The announcement that due to lower volumes the staff would be cut in half. It affects everybody. The bosses, the ones who stay, but, mostly the ones who go. When it's someone else we shake our heads and are thankful that it is not us. But, in this economy it can be only a phone call away.

What can we do?
Listen, listen, listen. Listen to the news and be aware of what's going on. Listen to the money saving tips on TV, the online news, and books. Listen to your employer. What skills and strengths do they need and value right now. Do you have them, can you develop them?

Talk about it. Not the poor me kind of talk or the all the time talk but the positive exchange of ideas and needs. If you need health insurance a friend may know where to get it at a resonable price. If you are getting rid of a couch a person you know may need one at low cost.

Do. Nothing takes the place of doing. If you know what you need to do don't put it off. Each change you makes that moves you in the right direction will move you farther along.

But what does any of this have to do with being laid off? The weather report is on everyday but if we don't pay attention we may not know the storm clouds are coming, if we don't talk about it we may not know what we need to do, and we may not grab the umbrella. So it is with the ecomomy. The downturn has been going on for long enough that we all have heard. It's not over yet. And the more people it hits, the more it will hit. If it's raining all around us at some point we may get wet.

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