Now is when stress can stop you from making a better way for yourself. Now, when the media sends us pictures of greedy pirates in suits and boats making off with our security, we must wake up to the possibilities around us. Reacting in anger, freezing mid-step or running for the hills will not help you now. Breathe, find your center, then plot your course forward. Believe there are opportunities to enrich your circumstances in the middle of this financial muddle. The status quo no longer exists. A fresh approach could lead to greater satisfaction and a new way of being could lead to greater security. In Chinese, the character for crisis is also the character for opportunity. — GoodWitch
Readers Are Spellbound & Perplexed…
Dear GW/BW – I work at one of the major corporations that has received TARP money. I used to manage a large group, and watched it dwindle over the past year. Now after this financial mess, I am managing myself plus a couple on and off temps. I used to love my job, but now it just feels like waiting for the other shoe to drop. How do I keep going in with my best attitude like this day after day indefinitely? My family needs the money. - Hash Marker
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Dear Hash Marker,
Please pardon the Monday morning sobriety from one who’s regularly accused of being The Eternal Optimist. Wall Street greed infected and weakened our country’s economic and ethical systems. The trickle down to Main Street (and its own inhabitants who must share relative blame of same) is an unfortunate by-product of recovery through rebalance (whether it can take root and be sustained, remains to be seen — and affected — by all) that will continue on, most likely (and if we’re lucky), through the end of this year. In other words, these are the circumstances we are all dealing with, there’s no happy option of “whether” in this case, , and undoubtedly, we don’t like it.
My observation and suggestion are one and the same for you. You must have done something right in your company’s eyes to maintain your job during this time of ferocious deconstruction of old systems and lives. You can be more than a survivor by just keeping your head down and…dealing with one day at a time. If you must make changes, then you will. Don’t look too far out into the future, for this will only create and sustain worry in you which you will only draw more of to you which you will have to untangle to survive…and so on… Don’t look back at the glory days of the past. That’s where they are. Done and over. Stay present in your skills and luck (and I believe we make our own) and strength of being for yourself and your family.
Let your strength of hope and optimism be permanent in our impermanent existence. All is not necessarily as it seems, but it certainly is what you make it.
Shoulder to shoulder,
BadWitch
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Dear Hash Marker,
In these uncertain times, keeping your optimism up can be more than a little daunting. We have all seen the shrinking work force, shrinking wallets and shrinking morale. But you can’t let yourself get stuck there.
In your case, it is important to continue your work with your best face forward. Right now, a good attitude may be the weighty factor that keeps you employed. The good news is that if you are left to manage the temps and contract workers for your department, you are needed. Someone will need to manage and coordinate freelance workers. If your company is solvent chances are your job is safe.
However, none of us can bank on that these days. If you know you need a job to support your family, start looking for back-up jobs now. Now is the time to research, send resumes and get out there. You may find a position that pays you more money. But you will never know if you are just waiting around for “the other show to drop.”
My other suggestion is to do what you can to make yourself indispensable to your current employer. Are there other departments you can help out with? I remember starting off as at a newspaper years ago as the person who typed in classified ads for automotive and real estate. This was not satisfying as work or as a paycheck. I started helping out in Creative Services whenever they were overwhelmed. I became a regular fixture asking if they needed help and using my lunch hour or times I finished my work early to assist. I was quickly promoted to Creative Services and worked there full time with a pay increase. I made myself indispensable.
In these times where a good attitude at work can earn you Passover points when the pink slips are handed out, making yourself the go-to person for more than one area within the company can give you security. So keep up your buoyancy. You have all the tools you need to give yourself more job security where you are, while keeping your options open for better situations. You have more power than you think.
Good luck,
GW
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