Neil Sadaka had it right when he said ‘breaking up is hard to do‘.
Lesson Learned in Unemployment #4: Getting RIF’d is a lot like breaking up; handle it accordingly.
Involuntary unemployment sucks and even though you probably had some warning before that cuts would be made,
it doesn’t quite take the sting away. I’ve found that it’s a lot like breaking up with a long-time significant other.
I’ve once compared my job to a very unhealthy relationship I used to be in, and it’s the same exact case when your employer breaks up with you even though you wanted out anyway. There is just something more satisfying when you end it on your terms… kind of like that age-old advice “break up with him before he can break up with you”.
It might be a little crazy at first, but handle it just like you would any other break up – occupy your damn time! Don’t sit around all sad. Do stuff that would make your coworkers jealous. Wake up late. Lay out by the pool everyday. Do something… anything, but don’t let it bug you because just like in real life, if you’re sitting around being all sad thinking about your lost love you can almost guarantee your former Significant Other is out having a good time NOT thinking about you. (That means after your Former Company gives you the pink slip and your severance, they don’t give a furry squirrel about you, and you shouldn’t care about them either)
It gets a little tricky if you still have friends there, just like it’s tricky if you have mutual friends in a real-life breakup, so try to manage that as best you can. If you need to, set up some boundaries – like you don’t want to talk about certain people, things, etc that are work related that might bother you, don’t.
Like in real relationships, time heals all wounds. Most of the people who got RIF’ed in my Former Company have moved on to bigger and better things, so when that happens, it makes it a little sweeter.. it’s kind of like dating a way hotter & nicer guy after that idiot who broke up with you 
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Excellent comparison, although I have no clue what RIF is…
Sorry, RIF = Reduction In Force aka laid off
Nice comparison indeed. It’s true staying busy is the best… but the hardest part is keeping busy without spending money. How does one balance all these fun things you didn’t have time for before with a new budget? Granted plenty of free things to do, but only if you already possess the necessary equipment. Laying out buy the pool isn’y easy if you don’t have a pool, etc. So what are YOU doing with your time?
p.s. I heart your layout. Makes me happy.
Spatzi – there are a TON of things you can do on a tight budget.
I think the key is kind of like ‘dieting’ you can still do what you want but in moderation.
I still went out for happy hours for example – but I became the queen of finding good specials. There is a place that has $2 drinks every Tuesday for example. A long island iced tea tastes just as great if it was $2 or $7
If you don’t have a pool, there are good chances someone you know does – whether they live in a house or apartment building
)
I’ll probably have to write a post about the things I’ve done w/ my time over the last 3 months
[...] couple of days ago, I said getting laid off is a lot like someone breaking up with you and that you should keep busy so that you don’t get all upset about it. Sptazi of [...]
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