Pink slip-up

Forced layoffs mean you don’t take just a monetary hit.

It is a gloomy season as the turmoil in the financial markets shows no sign of abating. This is perhaps the first time that such events have hit home for the average white-collar worker in India. The collapse of giants such as Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, it is said, will have ramifications here and, for the first time, the spectre of pink slips on the desk has become real.

Psychologists have cited forced layoffs as one of the biggest contributors to stress-related illnesses. Here, where for almost a decade employees have been used to attending to daily calls offering jobs, the scenario is a surreal one.

First and foremost, a pink slip evokes an emotional response. It is said to cause denial, anger, trauma and frustration, and induce stress. This is even more relevant in India, according to experts, because losing a job here has definite sociological impact. Not many will have the courage to own up even to their close family that they have been laid off. It is feared that the vast majority of young professionals who live away from their families would simply decide to say nothing and try to ride out the storm on their own.

A common response to such a sudden increase in stress is a search for immediate relief, which often is alcohol. In a recent study, the Department of Health in England studied patterns in heavy drinkers. They classified them into nine groups and found that in one category — depressed drinkers — among the biggest reasons for hitting the bottle were financial and employment trouble.

The best way to deal with a pink slip is to be prepared for it. That, sadly, is often not the case. Psychologists refer to as the “It cannot happen to me” syndrome. But the best way to deal with it when it does happen is to not make a bad situation worse. Experts warn that taking to alcohol actually means that you are eating into you remaining finances.

They say that planning and making the best use of any severance package is the start. This is especially important because, unlike European countries or some American states, we don’t have redundancy laws. The next step is to organise your expenditures and debts, even getting help to attend to them. But finally, it is said, even though it might be clichéd, the only cure is optimism.