She calls her book a survival kit for every hard-working employee who has been ambushed by corporate downsizing, or left anxiously twisting in the wind as layoff rumours swirl.
Increasingly, we are living in a cruel corporate environment, a culture where it is “normal” for companies to usher employees into an office, read a one-paragraph statement of termination – and show them the door.
“It’s terrible, undignified,” says Ruth Luban, a California psychotherapist and author of Are You a Corporate Refugee? A Survival Guide for Downsized, Disillusioned and Displaced Workers (Penguin, 2001).
“People who have been dedicated, loyal workers are being herded into rooms, given a box to collect their things and escorted out of the building by a security guard. It’s all boom, boom, boom.”
People are left bewildered and betrayed, says Luban, who sadly predicts that the culture won’t change anytime soon.
It is why she wrote her book, she says. People can take control.
Luban will share her insights in Calgary on June 16 at a workshop that will help utilize the process she has developed.
Underpinning her work is the belief that people must give equal time to a job search and psychological recovery.
“The way to do this is to create an interim structure to take the place of the lost work structure. We design how we’ll move through the day.”
The daily schedule consists of rituals, which include exercise, maintaining a journal, being deliberate about good nutrition and making sure to get enough sleep.
They are key components to ensure people work through what she considers are the five critical stages in making the transition. Depending on the individual the process may take weeks, months or years.
Luban describes the five stages as:
* On The Brink It’s the time a person feels they are going to be laid off. It’s a time to get files and finances organized. Learn your rights. Figure out your pension situation. Understand it all so you won’t feel surprised.
* Letting Go The book offers strategies about grieving the loss of co-workers, the loss of structure of your day, and the work itself. A lot of people are dedicated to their work and careers and never wanted to leave.
* Wilderness This is the largest section of her book. It’s a time of active wandering, soul searching and self-assessment.
Really look at what you’ve been doing in combination with your innate talents, and your passion and preferences, says Luban. The idea is to compartmentalize the time you search for work to no more than four hours a day. The rest of the time? Get outdoors, wander and be expansive.
“In my mind it’s the most important thing, not to rebound into the next job automatically for fear of the lost paycheque. I always tell people to take as much time as they can afford to choose what’s next, rather than be chosen.”
* Seeing The Beacon After enough time in the wilderness, a “calling” takes shape. A theme or job description forms of what you truly desire. Do research to find out what industry, companies, and opportunities are available. Target the job search in that direction. But hold your boundaries so you don’t take an offer that doesn’t match that description.
* In The New Land Once in a new job, Luban says the process must continue. Have a sense of how you arrived there and hold to the boundaries that you designed for yourself. Realize that you are not just a cog in the corporate machine.
Tina Martin, a Calgary conference organizer, was drawn to Luban’s work because it deals with the personal side of job loss.
“Depending on the person, some people are thrown for a loop, and others just get on with it,” says Martin, who offers personal and transition coaching through her business, Passion Works.
While there are agencies that help people build a resume, network, job-search and do interviews, Martin says the personal side is often ignored.
“(People should know) that they can look at options other than just finding another job. Take time off and pull back, see what the next steps are.”
Although Calgary’s economy is booming, Martin says layoffs are occurring.
Luban expects a future of transition.
Just a year ago, companies were pulling retirees from the golf courses and putting them back to work, she says. Now doors are slamming shut on IT workers, people who could write their own ticket months ago.
Luban knows people who were aggressively recruited for jobs in the past two years, did their tasks well, and now have suddenly been set adrift.
“The tragedy that really grabs me,” says Luban, “is where people have given their all, worked the overtime, 50 to sometimes 80 hours a week.
“They might be people who dodged the bullet of the first round of layoffs. They worked weekends to make up the difference. Then they are laid off.”
For 25 years, Luban has worked with thousands of people facing transition. Today, she says feelings of betrayal and confusion are rampant.
She believes that once people have worked through her book, they’ll have a personalized guide to ease them around the next ambush.
Web Watch:
www.corporaterefugees.com
