Laid Off: Happy Holidays to You

Since news of my layoff from my employer on December 10th, I’ve had a number of people remark how cruel this was, especially since it was done with the end of the year holiday season right around the corner.

But, if you are going to layoff people to immediately cut costs, it makes no sense to hesitate until the holidays are past and one is in a new budget year. Take the pain and move on, if you can.

Yet, from a personal perspective, being laid off for the holidays has not been bad. There are some really good reasons for this:

• You have time to do things others can’t. My wife and I took a trip to the Oregon coast to get away from it all and it was well worth the trip. We’ve baked. Cooked. And spent a lot of time together.
• You can handle surprises. Most of the time when I’ve been working the holidays, we’re over scheduled and the slightest deviation from the schedule makes things that much more difficult to get oriented again.
• Missing all the end-of-the-year work. The end of the year is actually very hectic — year end reviews to write and complete, last minute budget updates, and more work to cover others who are gone. It is not a slow time of year.
• You can sleep. Really.
• Lower anxiety. In these difficult company times, you know you are going to get laid off — the only question is when. I’d submit that going through all the stress of work and holiday commitments combined with the anxiety of not knowing when the layoff is coming is a much more difficult situation to be in for the holidays.

Not that we shouldn’t be working, you understand. It’s just that, if done right, being laid off for the holidays is a wonderful time to focus on that which makes you a great person in the first place. Without the crazy time of work.

Scot