Job Loss Warning Signs - How Will I Recognize the Signs Given

What are the warning signs you will be replaced or your position will be cut in a company staff reduction? Some of these cryptograms are not really a secret language at all but quite easy to discern. One rather obvious one is when your boss doesn't support you when things go wrong - even tries to distance herself from you. Then there is the assignment she gives you, but never follows up on your progress or even that it was done at all. This kind of sounds like busy work, not something she would assign to someone she considers a valuable employee, and probably should arouse your suspicion. Another is the boss who normally is mild-mannered who starts acting paranoid and needs to know everything you're doing and micro-managing your every task. He may turn what has been positive performance reviews into nitpicking sessions focusing on a few small details, while ignoring overall stellar performance.

There are the secretive, closed-door senior management meetings, which should be taken as a serious sign of pending cuts, especially when sales or profits have fallen behind previous years. If your company is lagging behind its industry competitors in product innovation, new technology, or marketing savoir-faire something must give. Since labor costs are typically at or near the top expense line on a company budget, they probably will look at reducing the headcount.

The more subtle signs are things like having a boss start making sarcastic jokes or teasing in not so nice ways. Or he could make conclusions, with little or no facts to back it up. Guy Kawasaki, a leading business author, says, "Does the boss accept criticism or blame when the going gets tough? Be wary of people who constantly dish out criticism but can't take a healthy dose themselves." A boss distancing herself from her team may be her mechanism for coping with what she knows is going to be a tough decision to let part of her staff go. This may involve less eye contact. Not seriously listening to you or your suggestions - just paying you lip service when you are trying to improve the service of your department.

If you are trapped behind an inept manager who doesn't know how to plan or prioritize tasks, or one who believes if it's not her idea, it isn't a good idea will be a difficult career challenge for you. As Stephen R. Covey says, "Don't let yourself become a victim of your bosses weaknesses." Someone in senior management may be listening to your manager and have very little knowledge of what you contribute to the organization.

What can you do if you think you are in danger of unemployment? When you have a lousy manager whom you know will only be protecting his or her own skin while leaving you out to dry? Start by always having an up-to-date resume. Always volunteer for committees, project teams, sports teams, holiday party planning group, or educational seminars your company has to offer - to get you exposure to other departments and managers to get out from underneath your questionable boss. Become the go to person in your company - someone who can always be depended upon. This makes you too valuable to lose or, in the event of a decision to let go you or another employee, this becomes a tiebreaker in your favor. Build up a network of friends, colleagues, classmates, church members, sports team buddies, extended family, etc. who you can count on to give you advice and help if ever needed to find a new position.

If you recognize the warning signs and see them all around you, start making plans to get out of the organization. Talk to your mentor or other trusted senior adviser, but do not tell a sole in your department because word will travel like wildfire, especially if someone in your team believes it will save their job to let the boss know you are looking elsewhere.

Don't give your present employer a reason to fire you. Do your job and do it well, but in your off hours and weekends begin the job search in earnest. Potential employers will understand if you can only meet over lunch or for coffee prior to the start of the business day. They will respect you for giving your all to your existing employer. Heed consumer warnings about online jobs or job placement sites that require a fee to join. Use your network of friends and colleagues to find the jobs before they are even posted.

The key is to recognize the warning signs of pending change in job status and to take action. You must be proactive and take care of yourself - no one else has the same motivation you have.

Stress, Anxiety, Depression - The New Workplace, Cause or Effect

Even companies thought to be bulletproof from layoffs, such a Google, have had to reduce their workforces in this long, deep recession. The Obama Administration says it's going to get worse before it gets better, with unemployment rising above 10% before it inches back down later in 2010. The reality is that there is no such thing as job security any longer and basically everyone should have a healthy dose of concern for their livelihood, that is unless they are independently wealthy and don't really need to be employed. For the rest of us though, worrying about making house payments, putting food on the table, and gasoline in the family car, angst is rampant. So where is the happy median of a healthy concern for our jobs as opposed to being stressed out to the point of it causing major health problems, including depression?

Sarah Burgard, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, in an article published by LiveScience says "In fact, chronic job insecurity was a stronger predictor of poor health than either smoking or hypertension in one of the groups we studied." She goes on to say that "Based on how participants rated their own physical and mental health, we found that people who were persistently concerned about losing their jobs reported significantly worse overall health in both studies and were more depressed in one of the studies than those who had actually lost and regained their jobs recently."

How can this be? When you think about it, the stress of the insecurity about the next paycheck, medical benefits, retirement plans - all tied to our jobs - has to take a toll on us. Everywhere you turn today you see family, friends, and colleagues either out of work or in fear of a forced career change and it's the major focus in much of the media we see. If you get laid off or otherwise terminated from your employment, at least you know where you stand and you can channel your anxiety into action to network and search for another job. Not that this is without its' own stressfulness but at least the uncertainty and helplessness of waiting for the ax to fall is relieved.

In the US, the average savings rate as a percentage of income is lower than the rest of the industrialized world. This leaves us vulnerable in light of job cuts - especially now with 6.2 people competing for each available open position. Most workers lack the wherewithal to maintain their standard of living when hit with a job loss and go through the (sometimes) long process of securing a new one. It will take you an additional month on average to find a new job of equal pay, for each $10,000 of income, e.g. if you make $80,000 it will take eight months to find a replacement position. This includes getting your resume together, networking, the search, getting called back, the preliminary interviews, the final interviews, checking references, making the offer, you accepting the offer, and actually starting the new job. This could be a painful period with meager unemployment benefits.

What happens to your job performance if you are at unhealthy stress levels, which weaken the immune system leading to physical illness and even depression? Your work suffers. You are not upbeat and motivating to your subordinates, teammates, and even customers. You probably have more sick days. This lack of positive contribution can even be your downfall - setting yourself up for a target in the next round of layoffs and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yes, the insecurity you feel in your job can cause you to lose it.

What can workers do to remove themselves from this vicious cycle? Start by always having an up-to-date resume and keep an eye open for your next position. Be forward thinking so that you are cognizant of your standing with your employer and the market position of your company, so that you can be proactive and make a change if need be. Help create a healthy work environment in your job where teamwork is encouraged and satisfaction is achieved. You should add value to each task you undertake. Always take the opportunity to continuously re-educate yourself and network with the people in your industry and community who have knowledge and offer guidance. Keep pace with new technologies. Religiously build your savings account for a potential rainy day; that will add a great deal to your security. Being overly dependent on a company can destroy your ability to take risks or make changes when you know they are necessary. You need to prepare for the future by putting these practices in place. This will be your security going forward.

Recession: It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over (in the immortal words of Yogi Berra)

Samantha, a laid off 29 year old clothing store manager, says, she’ll know the recession is over when she gets a new job. A cartoon (satirical humor) in The Denver Post shows a long line of unemployed workers waiting to get into the unemployment office, when one person leans over his shoulder and says, “the recession is over, pass it on.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke recently stated that the US recession is “very likely over.” The same day the Dept. of Labor announced first time unemployment claims for the week came in at 550,000. It’s hard for any of us to grasp what this means. Think about it, each week over one-half million people (the population of a city the size of Denver or Boston proper) file for unemployment benefits for the first time! And this is compounded, week after week, which is why we have roughly 15 million unemployed in the country. About one-half of these people have depleted their unemployment benefits. Imagine the disrupted families, which at about four per household means 60 million people are directly impacted in total. It is not a pretty picture to think of these parents scraping together money to get school supplies and school clothes for their children starting the new school year – let alone food on the table and gas in the car for the job search.

Then we add in the indirectly impacted folks. The workers at Office Depot, whose sales of school supplies are down, causing management to sack another employee or Macy’s pink-slipping a clerk because the school clothes season didn’t meet expectations. It is a vicious cycle we’re caught in. Our economy is built on consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of our economic engine.

This recession isn’t going to end until jobs are created in sufficient numbers to get laid off workers back on the job – and the bloodletting of job cuts comes to a screeching halt. It’s not going to end until consumer confidence builds to levels not seen for many years. Several recent articles have pointed to the damaging impact of “stress” on our lives and much of that today is caused by not really knowing if our employment is stable for the long-term. Unless American workers again acquire confidence in our system, that the housing crisis, financial crisis, healthcare mess, and government overspending is behind us, we won’t begin discretionary consumption as needed to create new jobs. This is the only way we can begin an upward spiral out of this recession.

Americans are resilient people. Hopefully we have learned something from this economic morass and will never again get too deep in debt and proactively stay a step ahead in the job market. We have learned that we have to take responsibility for our own lives and careers – that we can no longer depend on corporate America, our government, or educational system to take care of us. Our own preparedness is our only security going forward. This means always accepting new challenges and assignments in the workplace – become the go to person. It places even great emphasis on maintaining a solid network of colleagues and friends, so they will be there if needed. It’s recognizing what’s going on within your company or industry: are they making a profit or losing out to competition, are they introducing new products, is your position redundant, or is your boss a tyrant adding unbearable stress to your life? Then to proactively do something about it, such as apply for a new position within your company or start looking at a new company or go back to school for another degree. It’s up to you!