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    Posted Monday, May 11, 2009 11:44 AM

    Surviving a Layoff: You Kept Your Job. Now Keep Sane.

    Kate Dailey
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    Survive the latest round of layoffs? Congratulations! Unlike your previous co-workers, you have both a job and higher rates of depression, more psychosomatic illnesses like headaches, ulcers and insomnia, and a nasty case of survivor's guilt. You've got more work and fewer co-workers, as well as the lingering suspicion that you might be next. "The anticipation of something is often worst than finding out you've been laid off," says Leon Grunberg, professor of comparative sociology at the University of Puget Sound. "No one wants to be living in a constant state of insecurity." Grunberg and his colleagues spent 10 years studying current and former employees at Boeing during several cycles of layoffs, mergers and companywide change. (His book about the research, Turbulence: Living Through Workplace Chaos, will be out in 2010 from Yale University Press.)

    While getting a pink slip may be an initial shock, it's one from which you can recover and move on. The workers left behind, however, are still dealing with all the stress and uncertainty of working in a company that may still be financially unstable. "When organizations are nervous and pessimistic, that reverberates through the top and down," says Barry Shore, a professor of decision sciences at the University of New Hampshire Whitemore School of Business and Economics and the founder of DownsizingStrategy.com. He says some people can be so sensitive to this work-induced uncertainty that they suffer a kind of posttraumatic stress disorder. But not you. It is possible to keep your job and your sanity. Here are five tips on how best to do that.

    1. Be Proactive.
    Feeling like you have some sort of control over your circumstances can go a long way toward ensuring your mental heath. The laid-off workers in Grunberg's study regained their feeling of mastery, or life control, after their firing; the remaining employees never did. If you're miserable at your current job, it's OK to start proactively looking for another. "Even in a downturn, jobs are being created," says Shelley Akabas, professor of social work and director of the Workplace Center at Columbia University. She noted that the "jobs lost" indicator used by the government is a net total that also takes into account jobs created. The April jobs report indicated a slow down in job loss, in part because of an upswing in new job creation. It's not the booming job market of yesteryear, but the global economy marches on.

    2. Communicate.
    Talk with your manager. After the bloodshed, have two types of discussions with your boss. First, sit down for a state of the union. "Ask your supervisor to level with you," says Blau. "'Do I need to start looking for another job? Do I have another six months before the next round of layoffs?'" Honesty and transparency from the top brass means you're less likely to freak out, says Blau. (It's also a good tip for managers overseeing shaky and depleted staff.)

    The second conversation should go on every day--just a quick check-in to insure that you and the boss are on the same page. Keeping the lines of communication open will ensure that you're working on projects that are of the most importance to your boss, that you don't waste time on assignments that have changed or been eliminated, and that you know exactly what your boss is expecting of you--and what he'll get. "Stop and think about what you want to talk to your boss about, because he's busy too," says Nancy Snell, a New York City-based business coach with a focus on productivity issues. "But even though we're all overloaded, ultimately it will ease the load. Bosses aren't going to call the meeting, so it has to come from you."

    3. Put an End to the Kvetching.
    Don't participate in those bitching-about-the-boss coffee breaks. It might feel like a support group, but it can turn into a vicious cycle of complaining and despair, leaving you more despondent than energized. "If you get caught in groups that are very, very critical of management, you have to balance that out or minimize it as much as possible," says Shore. Use the time you'd spend complaining to get some work done, thus ensuring you can get out the door--and home to things that make you feel good--faster. If you need a break, head for the door to get some fresh air, not toward you're favorite cynical co-worker's cubicle.

    4. Slow Down.
    "When a lot of people have left, jobs are consolidated and people are expected to do much more," says Akabas. But let's be honest: if business was booming, layoffs might not be necessary. While there may be more work for you, there's very little chance that it's so much work that you can never leave your desk, eat lunch or see your kids. So don't overreact by working at a constant, frantic pace that will not only burn you out but also keep you from being truly productive. "The people who do the best are those who give themselves permission to stop and think, rather than being reactors all day," says Snell. That could mean shutting down your e-mail for an hour while you focus all your attention on an important project, using the first 15 minutes of the day to write up a detailed schedule, or taking a walk to clear your head and plan your next move.

    5. Get a Life.
    Balance out your hectic work life with something that makes you feel happy and fulfilled. In Grunberg's study, those who survived several rounds of layoffs became less focused on work. "We had an increase in people saying they had shifted their devotion to work, family, friends or leisure," he said, and though he can't say whether this shift lead to happier workers, it definitely beats obsessing about your job all the time. After all, on their deathbed no one ever said, "I wish I had spent more time frantically trying to keep my head above water while my company circled the drain."
     
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    Posted By: Anonymous (May 18, 2009 at 2:12 PM)

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    Posted By: Kanan Divecha (May 13, 2009 at 7:44 AM)

    A good how-to article for the job survivors. Bottomline? Stick to the straight and narrow - just do your best at your job, the rest be damned. If you are good at it, you will survive; despite being good at it, if you too are shown the door after a point, what the heck, just leave. View it as God's wish for you to take a break, learn a skill, travel, whatever. Work is just a fraction of what our life is. It's not what makes our whole life. Life is, after all, as Shakespeare said, a stage; we are merely actors playing out our parts. We must learn to go with the flow, learn the lessons we are supposed to learn and move on. If we can do that with a smile, we are true survivors. Don't sweat the small stuff. Be happy, always. Kanan Divecha, Mumbai, India

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