I’m in claims and I’m worried.
We have a lot of phone availability right now (granted when we become ICS it will probably drop quite a bit) and they are training new CSR folks for ICS right now, like just newly hired folks and then we become ICS later this year/early next year.
I know ICS is a pain but I’m very comfortable in my job and relatively happy and can’t afford to lose it as I’m very tenured and make more than I would anywhere else. I’m sick with worry.
Some tips for weathering a layoff...
The first time that I was laid off from a job, I worked 120% up to the bitter end. I was working actively to bring income into the company, and had shifted to be considered "core". At first, that kept me at 1/2 pay (yes, they first furloughed our wages). And so it was a relief when the layoff happened because I could 120% devote to finding a new job.
I did NOT repeat this strategy at G-umpany. I was an IT analyst, and I started actively looking to pivot after the first wave of "excising" last Nov., then made it a priority after our department restructuring in March.
I think that there is something traumatic about going through a layoff, and the experience imprints.Once you go through one, you can recognize the signs of a cost-cutting mentality forever after. If anything, this is the small gift in this current situation.
Cost-cutting logic makes sense only from an annual report/portfolio perspective -- it doesn't see individuals. G-umpany has an arterial bleed, and this is the ugly, vicious part of triage. It's scary, it's traumatic, it's degrading.
But the social contract that we make with employers is labour for security. So if you don't feel secure, guess what? Time to pivot.
Some tips for weathering a layoff:
(1) Read (or watch) Catch-22. According to the author, Joseph Heller, it is a book about surviving a bureaucracy. You can either be a Yossarian, or you can be an Orr. (Be an Orr).
(2) Write a list: "Things I can control". Then work that list. Mentally put everything else on the "Things I can't control " list and throw it away, and come back to what you can control. Work only that list.
(3) Trust yourself to land on your feet. That you have the agility, resilience, courage, and GRIT to fu----g thrive. That you've done it all of your life until now, and that this is adding to your fabulous storehouse wisdom.
I'm so sorry for the pain and the loss that so many are experiencing -- it just breaks my heart. I wish everyone a sense of autonomy, choice, and control as they navigate these deep waters.
Please take care of yourselves. Brush off your resumes. Create a LinkedIn profile. Share that you are open to work, you do not have to use the open to work banner on your profile pic if you don’t want G to know. See what opportunities recruiters message your inbox with. Apply for jobs and ask Ava out salary and benefits. You may be surprised to find out what is out there and leaving on your own terms can be empowering and helps you land on your feet instead of being caught off guard and taking any job that comes your way after a layoff.
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. Believe it or not. Claims staffing was evaluated this year and G thinks the department is overstaffed.