Helping Your Employees Understand and Handle Their Emotions During Career Transitions
Sudden career transitions – such as job loss, internal reorganizations, promotions and job redesign – often stir up a lot of emotions which can be overwhelming and confusing at best. In some individuals these feelings are so intense they can even threaten employees' well-being. Others appear to be less affected. However, in most situations, career transitions not only affect the individual, they also impact their whole family.
As HR professionals or business managers how can you help your employees deal with career changes in a positive and effective way?
This article is intended to explore the emotions around career transitions, particularly around job loss, to help you assist your employees through a period of uncertainty and confusion and, in the process, help them move ahead. The following information may not apply to all people who are faced with sudden unemployment. However, you will find that developing self-awareness and learning coping strategies will help most people rebound and rebuild esteem.
Loss of Identity. Loss of Self-Esteem
Job loss has a tremendous effect on how we perceive ourselves, on our identity. People who lose their jobs sometimes feel an identity crisis, because we generally define ourselves by what we do for a living. We describe ourselves to others by giving our name and a brief description of our job title, profession, or occupation.
Next to our personal name, our job title is often the most important thing that defines us to others. So, when our work is no longer there, we feel a major gap in our lives. “Who we are” is also affected by the economic uncertainty we are going through. We can suddenly change from a confident professional and breadwinner to one who is insecure and, perhaps, dependent on others.
As there are fewer things to define ourselves without our work, our self-esteem can suffer. We think less of ourselves unemployed than we did while working and making a valuable contribution to an organization. However, we need to remember that we are the same people we were while working. A good person remains a good person, a loving parent remains a loving parent, a dear friend remains a dear friend and, finally, with today’s safety nets, a good provider can remain a good provider until he or she finds work again.
After all, being a good provider means far more than the money you bring home! By thinking of themselves in this light, your employees will probably see that their role has not changed as much as they may have thought. They are still the same people they always were and, more importantly, their worth is the same as it always was.
Being out of work often gives us a feeling that we have lost control over our lives.This lack of control is directly influenced by whether we believe we can influence our future. If we don’t believe we can, it becomes even more difficult to adjust to the new situation and react positively.
Model of Adjustment
Self-control means taking charge of the current situation. This does not require the individual to change the event – often that cannot be done. But it does require them to change the way they respond to the event. It is the control they can exert over their immediate REACTIONS and future ACTIONS.
The Reaction-Action Model of Adjustment outlines four stages that people go through when they learn they have lost their job. These stages are:
- ALARM
- ACKNOWLEDGMENT
- ADJUSTMENT
- ACTION
Each stage is a step in the process toward dealing with the feelings that surround job loss. Each stage is marked by particular thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Again, remember that people can experience different things around job loss, so emotional experiences are individual. Different people have different experiences.
The following process is merely a guide to understanding how job loss can affect people. And it defines what can be done to help them continue feeling productive.
Alarm
The Alarm stage is defined by the individual’s “reactions” following the termination:
- Shock and disbelief.
- Guilt, fear, denial, helplessness.
- Frustration, anger and depression.
Shock and disbelief are usually displayed through almost total passivity. It is extremely difficult for a person in shock to articulate or describe their immediate experience. There is frequently an appearance of anxiety or almost total apathy or lack of feeling.
When a person feels helpless, he or she tends to turn inward or withdraw. An overwhelming sense of uncertainty can be very frightening. Crying is a very healthy and normal way to express fear and acute depression.
Some people are not in the habit of showing their feelings. These will probably react at a later time. This is called a delayed stress reaction. It is most important to ensure that these feelings are re-managed constructively and shared with others who are supportive. Anger develops from frustration. It may be frustration with the “system” or with other individuals or groups of people, such as those who are seen as having made the decision to terminate a position. On the other hand, it can be frustration with one’s self.
Turned inwardly, anger can lead to feelings of depression. This feels threatening and it can be very self-destructive.
Turned outwardly, the anger is expressed in aggressive ways. Irrational thinking at this stage can threaten the safety of others.
The alarm stage is the only stage in which the person’s response requires balance. Open emotional expressions must be balanced with awareness that all control has not, in fact, been lost. Self-esteem and past experience play a major role in how people deal with the emotional experience.
Acknowledgment
In this model, “acknowledgment” does not necessarily mean “acceptance.” Many people will never fully accept what has happened to them. Acknowledging the situation though will help them deal with it realistically.
Acknowledgment means that they are dealing with reality. In this stage, a person’s “belief system” determines how he or she will act. If they believe in themselves, acknowledgment will occur more readily. If they are feeling uncertain or insecure, they will need to reflect on the immediate situation, collect their emotions, and re-think the facts.
Adjustment
People adjust to sudden unemployment gradually and with difficulty. In order to do it, they need to come to grips with their own insecurities. Adjustment requires positive thinking.
Responsibility versus Blame: First of all, they need to realize that nothing will be accomplished by determining whose fault it is: theirs, the company’s, the market’s, etc.
Regardless of what happened, it is up to them to find alternate employment. Attributing blame and seeking retribution is, in most cases, a waste of time and energy. They can better spend their energy by determining “What have I learned from this experience?”
Potential versus Self-Doubt: Taking inventory of one’s strengths and skills can be a difficult process, but it can also be very energizing. Weighing their skills and attributes can help them deal with feelings of fear and uncertainty and can be very rewarding.
Most people are quick to own failure, but not so quick to accept credit for their successes. They need to recognize that it is their gifts and talents that have brought them their success in the first place.
Patience versus Impulse: Situations as difficult as unemployment are seldom resolved overnight. Expecting too much too soon will only result in disappointment.
Patience and the ability to resist impulsive decision-making (such as accepting any job offer) must be cultivated.
Diligence versus Passivity: The task of preparing for future changes and seeking alternate options remains with one person - the individual. It will require a great deal of energy.
Diligence will seem to fade at times and they will need to recharge their batteries, so to speak. Occasionally, passivity will show itself in both their attitude and their behaviour. This usually indicates a feeling of fatigue or a sense of entitlement.
Action
The Action stage is critical! It is about setting SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) and taking action on them. Both short and long-term goals are very important. The development of an Action Plan is also critical.
Action Plans must include the goal, the action required, the expected result and the timeframe. Individuals need to:
- Establish a plan of action using goal-directed tactics.
- Use verbs when establishing their action plan.
- Review goals and determine whether they have accomplished them.
- If necessary, set new goals. If they have not been achieved, they should ask themselves this: were the goals realistic in the first place?
- If yes, did they allow themselves enough time to accomplish them? If not, they should give themselves more time, or set new goals.
They should also remember to document their tasks and expected outcomes. An activity should not be abandoned simply because it seems too time-consuming or difficult. As they expand their comfort zone, they will conquer their fears and become stronger in the process!
Pat Risdon is president of The Focus Group located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Focus Group is dedicated to being at the leading edge of each of the human resource specialties in which it practices. Working with clients for the past 17 years, The Focus Group has grown from humble beginnings to become a world-class human resources consulting organization.
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