What I’m hearing from clients
The working world has been changed forever by the events of the last year. Even before COVID-19 hit our offices and workplaces there was an increasing shift away from traditional career paths towards the need to look for new ways to launch a career, work, retire and live. However, this considerable mindset shift has now become even more essential and with so many people facing difficult situations such as redundancy the need to reframe our approach to what comes next is vital.
It’s all going to be fine!
When we talk (and often walk too) in coaching conversations I find that people can and do move well beyond the headlines. Of course the news headlines have to tell us ‘It’s all going to be fine’ but that’s really tough today as we start another lockdown, when yet more waves of redundancies are imminent, and we learn another chain is struggling; it’s Paperchase’s turn in the spotlight today. The strain on our mental health, our finances, and our professional career paths is real for us all, in our particular and personal ways. Let’s not compare. Instead, I find in coaching, where people have the space and time to think that we reframe the general headlines and take the pressure off. Rather than the toxic rhetoric of “it’s going to be fine” we talk about “it’s going to be different.” I find this is more realistic under the circumstances and that it creates the potential for many positive things to happen without putting pressure on anyone to get there right now and pretend that certain feelings or struggles aren’t happening.
Reframing redundancy or ‘retirement’
Redundancy is a big deal particularly because it’s usually not expected and/or not wanted. Perhaps you’ve been told by your employer that you are going to be included in the next round of redundancies and you’re trying to work out what that means for you on a practical level and what you can do next. Or maybe you find yourself in a situation of being effectively ‘retired’ from a career that you’ve been in for decades. Maybe you are losing a role that you have worked towards for many years and the disappointment feels overwhelming. These are challenging situations to be in and there is no quick fix. However, there are some steps that you can make to take action:
● Make sure you have all the practical information. This includes leaving dates, redundancy pay, references, whether you can challenge decisions etc.
● Allow yourself whatever feelings are coming up, that way they can be let go of rather than keeping them locked in, suppressed only to emerge later. Being ‘let go’ can create some very hard feelings at any age, especially if you are going to be an older jobseeker. From feeling like it’s your fault you’ve been made redundant to criticising yourself for being ‘on the scrap heap’ to ‘railing at the system’, there are some recognisable stages at times like this and some common themes and experiences to go through which are normal.
● Look to the future. It might be hard to see an opportunity right now but there is one there if you want to create it. From getting to grips with technology that could enable you to start consulting, to applying for a grant to study, setting up a new business or starting down a completely new path these times of chaos and hardship can often result in better things.
Wherever you find yourself maybe right now you just need to create some space to pause, think and regroup - and perhaps get some coaching support to give you the perspective to reframe what comes next.
Working with a coach can provide essential support during times of transition and change. If you’d like to think things through with me, then please get in touch. It’s quite extraordinary what golden insights emerge when you are given the space and attention to think without being interrupted or ‘fixed’ in any way.