“So, it’s not surprising that the prospect of being impacted by layoffs causes fear and concern when many families already feel stretched thin.”
To better plan and be proactive, make savings a priority.
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“I cannot overstate the importance of expecting the unexpected and having a financial safety net in place,” said Hawthorne.
“Just like illnesses and accidents, none of us can control whether we are impacted by layoffs. We can only control how prepared we are for these setbacks.”
Be proactive
The best advice for letting go of constant worry when it comes to layoffs is to focus on what you can control, said Hawthorne.
“I cannot overstate the importance of expecting the unexpected and having a financial safety net in place,” said one expert about today’s economic realities and the worry many people feel about losing their jobs. (iStock / iStock)
“In this case, that means making sure you are doing your job to the best of your ability, and it also means having a financial safety net in place,” she noted.
She also recommended having a “solid savings plan for the unexpected, but even more so when the economic situation is murky, as it is today.”
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While none of us can control or predict the future, having some emergency savings in the bank can provide peace of mind.
Understand what is expected of you and how your manager and other leaders are measuring your success, advised one expert.
“As creatures, we fear the unknown and fear having our resources threatened — a layoff combines both of those things, so it’s natural to have anxiety about it,” she noted.
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“Remember that worrying does not change the outcome, just your experience. No amount of worrying changes the future.”
She recommends that people keep their head in the work game and continue doing their best.
“Keep doing what you can at work, remind yourself that worrying won’t change the outcome, and then, to feel a little more secure, create a fallback plan,” she said.
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Like other experts, Ballesteros advised people to save more aggressively, cut out unnecessary expenses and start reaching out to your network of contacts to warm them up in case you need them.
She also suggested lining up back-up options such as moving home temporarily with parents or other family members, selling things around the home that are no longer needed — or using an old skillset for a different type of job in the interim.
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Getting laid off is just one of the stressful realities of the professional world, experts pointed out.
“Look around you. Most professionals have been laid off, fired, unemployed or struggled to find work at some point,” Ballersteros said.
“It’s not shameful, it happens to many people, and most of those people found their footing again even if the initial layoff shook them.”
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