With all the job losses going on around the country, there’s plenty of advice as to what you should do if you’re made redundant.
Strangely, no-one seems to be thinking about what you shouldn’t do, so here are 7 things that you really shouldn’t do if you’re made redundant:
- Relax & take it easy – what better way to spend your mass of free time than by watching Jeremy Kyle & Loose Women or by playing online games – do anything other than look for jobs only or update your C.V., which will only remind you that you’ve got no job to go to and no money coming in.
- Splash out & treat yourself – make yourself feel better by dipping into your savings and splashing out on a big new TV or treating yourself to a nice long holiday. After all, you’ve worked hard for the past 5 years, you deserve a long break, and finding a new job can wait, can’t it. AndÂ
- Don’t tell anyone – it’s really shameful being made redundant isn’t it, makes you look like an idiot who isn’t worth employing, and you don’t want other people knowing that. Don’t tell anyone you’ve lost your job, keep dressing for and going out to work each day and act if nothing’s happened. Why not go and hide in the pub whilst pretending to be at work?
- Wallow in self pity – no-one wants to hear your sob stories, after all, you’re not the only one who’s lost their job, so keep it to yourself.
- Avoid complicated government forms – no-one likes to fill in long forms, so save yourself the hassle and don’t bother claiming the no doubt pitiful benefits you may be entitled to.
- Don’t bother organising your finances – you’ve lost your job, so how bad can things get. Just let the rest of your finances fall into disarray, after all, what’s the worst that can happen?
- Take a swipe at your ex-employer – how dare they make you redundant?! You’ll really make yourself feel better by having a go at your now ex-employer. Now’s your chance to tell them what you really think of them. Why not then email the whole company to let them into any secrets or to dish the dirt on othe employees, that’ll really wind them up.
Can you think of any other bad ideas when it comes to being made redundant? Let us know in the comments below.
photo credit: matthew solle
Just to comment on that last point “Taking a swipe at your employer”, when I was made redundant from the factory I worked in a few years ago, my boss (who never knew me, never interacted with the staff and stayed in his office all day) advised me that on my way out of the factory I ought not “make a scene” (!)
He said, “Let me give you a piece of advice – don’t make a scene on the way out, otherwise you won’t be able to come back here in the future if things get better.”
I kind of wanted to laugh, but he was serious. I ignored what he said and proved I am nothing like this disappointing characterisation by thanking him for employing me for the duration. Where he got this idea of me is odd. Maybe other ex-staff took redundancy a little too personally.
It’s true – you should never knock anyone behind their back. Gossip and insults are like pigeons. They always return home.
Another bad idea – drinking. A lot of people hit the bottle partly out of depression and partly out of boredom. That redundancy payment that most people get is immediately squandered on rubbish. Rather, that money could fund a business venture or at least be used to pay for job hunting, such as courses, clothes, books, stationary, travel etc.