Hearing that there are layoffs everywhere can be terrifying. This kind of worry is called “layoff anxiety.” It can cause employees to do poorly at work because they are worried about their jobs. The fear of being laid off also makes concentrating and getting motivated very hard. It can be damaging to mental health and lead to depression.
You can take the following 5 steps to deal with layoff anxiety:
1. Differentiate anxieties and facts
Most of the time, the worries about layoffs comes from ourselves, even though this might not happen at our company. But to get past this, we must sort out our thoughts and determine what is real.
You can at least lessen your layoff anxiety by asking yourself the following questions:
- Are managers in my department asking to cut costs?
- Is the company taking too long to hire new people?
- Do I know anything about the company’s sales going down?
- Are important meeting being held without me?
If the answer to most of these questions is “no,” you don’t have to worry about being laid off.
2. Be strategic
If you see signs of layoffs, you should gather information privately and rethink your roles. You can ask yourself the questions below and develop a plan of action:
- Is my contribution important to the company?
- Does my role bring income?
- Does the boss think what I do is important?
If not, talk to your boss about reorganizing your work or building relationships with people inside the company. Also, keep an eye out for big changes in your office.
Don’t spend too much time thinking about things that haven’t happened yet. Try to pay attention to our work so it gets done right.
Then, think about the future by reconnecting with old bosses or groups of people who work in the same field. Even if you lose your job in the end, there will be a lot of chances for you to find new jobs.
3. Plan for the worst that could happen
If you are uncertain about your job, be ready to explore new possibilities. For example, you could ask yourself a few of the following things:
- What do I do if I get laid off?
- What’s the next thing I should do?
- What problems will I have to deal with, and how will I get past them?
Review your plans in detail, even though this might make you feel worse. But if you write everything down, some of those steps might come in handy.
Related article: 9 Stress-Free Jobs for People with Anxiety
4. Reflect on past mistakes
We can feel calmer when we think about our past mistakes and how we overcame them.
A study shows that people who think about how they can keep getting better can improve their mental health. Bitter things can teach us how to be better people.
5. Reflect on your character
Think about the psychological idea of “self-complexity.” Simply put, this is a mirror that makes us who we are now. The more self-complexity we have, the better we can deal with hard times. That’s one reason why it’s important to have different things going on in our lives.
Investing in many different parts of our lives can help us become more well-rounded. For instance, hobbies, family, school, or health and fitness. This way, even if we lose our jobs, we won’t lose who we are.
People still feel lost after losing their jobs because they are too focused on work and see it as a part of their identity. When we lose what makes us feel most like ourselves, we feel unstable because we’ve lost what we thought was most important.
If you’re looking for your dream job, go no farther than Jobstore.com.
Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.