“Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.” Jeremiah 31:2
Layoff notices were given last week and lives changed. Even though the team knew layoffs were coming, there is a sting when that notice is given. Life changed for the recipients of those notices, and it changed for the people who did not receive them. We spend so many hours at work, that our co-workers become a secondary family unit. So the layoff impacts everyone in the community.
What happens after the notice is given/received is extremely important. The person giving the notice bears the burden of being the messenger whether s/he personally made the decision or was pressed by upper management or the figures on a piece of paper that showed how much reduction had to happen. Unless the person is cold and callous, s/he feels a weight of being the bearer of life-changing news that is not often perceived as good.
The recipient of the “pink slip” can do one of two things – rejoice or go through the stages of grief over the loss of the job. If the person who was laid off goes through the five stages of grief, it is in his/her best interest to work through them quickly because time is of the essence unless they have another means to provide for their household. I’ve watched co-workers go through the denial that this is really happening. There’s a sense of unbelief that this is real. This usually shifts to anger – “how dare they let me go!” and a decision to not do certain things for “them” anymore since “they” “don’t care about me, so why should I care about them?” attitude. I’ve watched a co-worker attempt to bargain with their manager by offering to take a salary decrease if the company will let her stay longer and another ask to extend out the layoff date or give more weeks of severance. The depression stage is difficult because there’s so much “against” the person who’s received the notice, that it seems so overwhelming. Every thought is encumbered by the idea that they have lost the job. Finally, there’s acceptance. Acceptance is the recognition that this lay-off is indeed happening and now I have to make a shift to the next leg of my journey.
For the receiver of the layoff notice, this could be a moment of rejoicing. While the 5 stages of grief may be experienced, they’re usually short-lived and tempered by the acknowledgement that better (life, job) is coming. They realize that everything is temporary; better days are coming. They feel a sense of relief because now they KNOW they must move on and they’re excited about what’s next for them in this journey called life.
In Jeremiah 30:17, the Lord promises to ” …give you back your health and heal your wounds”. This is a promise of restoration. So when your journey takes an unexpected sharp turn and you feel disoriented because you’re not on the path the way you thought you should be, remember who can restore you and as my pastor used to say, not only will God provide you with bread and water, He’s so good, he’ll put some jam on your bread too.
Restoration is possible for them that believe.
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