How to Emotionally Process a Layoff

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You Might Like � � � � � � � � � Don't like ads? Go ad-free with TradeBriefs Premium How to Emotionally Process a Layoff    “I am so sorry Shyamli, but we will not be able to extend your contract. We’re expecting you to wrap up your assignments and leave by the end of the year,” the disembodied voice of my manager trailed off the Skype call. On an autumn afternoon in 2011, I was told that I was being let go. In the moment, contrary to my expectations, I felt relieved. I’d been disengaged and anxious at work for the past few months, and this layoff, I assured myself, was going to be the end of my debilitating anxiety. However, in less than a week, this relief started to fade and I was engulfed by anger, shame, and a mounting sense of inadequacy. The days after my layoff were the hardest. I was stuck in a negative self-talk loop: “Why me? Was I really so bad? What a loser!” The weeks that followed helped me sit with my emotions, and I realized that my professional identity was central to my sense of self. Not waking up to a “job” each morning felt like a personal loss. I kept asking myself: “If I wasn’t a professional, who was I?” Feeling threatened about our sense of self or identity, especially in the face of a layoff is not uncommon. Most of us define ourselves by our professional identities. In fact, research shows that nearly 55% of U.S. professionals derive their sense of identity from their jobs. It’s not surprising that many of us go through a tumultuous emotional experience when we lose the very thing that we use to define ourselves. Continued here

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