Coping with redundancy

We have spoken to medical experts and people affected by the downturn who have made the best out of a bad situation to find out why people turn to alcohol in times of stress and what alternatives there are to drinking when times get tough.

Don’t drown your sorrows

Seventy one per cent of the people interviewed in a May 2009 YouGov survey for Drinkaware believed redundancy was the main reason they were drinking more, with almost half of them drinking more during the day as a result. “These figures don’t surprise me,” says consultant psychologist Dr Michael Sinclair of the City Psychology Group. “Redundancy triggers our underlying insecurities and drinking is often a coping mechanism to deal with these. But it’s a viscous circle. Drinking’s a quick fix solution which could end up making you feel less confident.”

Think presently

More helpful behaviour, says Dr Sinclair, is to not take redundancy personally: to stop regretting past actions (“I should have done X,Y,Z and then I wouldn’t have lost my job”) and worrying about the future (“how will I pay the bills/mortgage in six months time?”) because you can’t change either. “Don’t get caught up in the credit crunch doom and gloom or be too self critical,” he says.

“Shrink the panic and the problem by only allowing yourself one hour a day to think about all your fears around your redundancy. Don’t let it spill out into your day.”

Sound off

Perspective is certainly key to dealing with redundancy. Phillip Hodson fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, says it’s important not to blame yourself when you’re made redundant. Anger, depression and fear are all perfectly natural emotions to have following redundancy, says Philip, and it’s important to have friends and family that you can “sound off” to.

“Tell your friends you might be ratty for a bit and ask for a bit of indulgence,” he says. “Start drinking too much and you might extend the feelings of failure.

“Sometimes things happen that are painful and unavoidable but you have to go through them, not around them, and the key thing is to be physically and emotionally relaxed. Avoid obsession and take up some physical exercise to burn off your energy.”

Set targets

Once you’ve figured out a way to cope with redundancy, you may be able to see it as a fresh start. Cardiff-based John Gilheaney, 39, said he was lucky because he viewed his redundancy as “a blessed release” and thought it would give him a wonderful opportunity to do the things a nine-to-five job wouldn't allow him to. He used to be a features editor for a magazine and used his redundancy to learn new skills in web design at night school.

“Look at ways to learn new skills as quickly as possible,” advises John who is now an information manager at a charity in South Wales. “When you face a tough time like coping with unemployment you have to maintain at least a semblance of self-discipline and set new targets.”

Change of scene

Neil Miller, 43 swapped working in the City for the great outdoors when he was made redundant following the 1990s’ recession. An insurance broker for 11 years, he would be out of the house working 13-hour days. He’d commute for at least two hours of that and put up with lots of work-related stress. Now he’s head gardener at Hever Castle in Kent, which he calls a “fairy tale setting”, doing a job he loves.

“I wasn’t unhappy but I didn’t realise the stress I was under until I was made redundant,” he says. “For me redundancy was a positive thing because it gave me that push to try something I’d always thought about doing but never got round to.”

Neil completed a Royal Horticultural Society City & Guilds to develop his new career as a gardener. He doesn’t have a massive salary but, then, he feels he doesn’t really have a ‘job’.

“It doesn’t feel like a job because I love it so much,” he says. “I’ve never had a bad day.”

Take stock

Neil admits that coping with redundancy isn’t easy. He started gardening for friends and family “to keep him sane” during the three months when he didn’t work and advises people who are made redundant to keep active.

“Get up at the same time as you would normally and use the time to take stock and think about what you enjoy doing, try some voluntary work,” he says. “Don’t panic and don’t allow yourself to get bored.”

Page last updated by

Root User, 19 Apr 2010.

Page checked on

28 May 2009