Are you happy to have your job? A few weeks ago, you may have taken your job for granted. In the height of our prosperous economy, things were busy, we had options, and we all expected a paycheck. Now that the world has been turned upside down with a pandemic, there is so much uncertainty. Will you get laid off? Have you already been laid off? Will your clients quit doing business with you?
These are all questions we are all certainly asking in these times, and for many of us, the answer will be yes to one or more of those. Let’s examine different situations.
Starting with retirees who typically don’t have to worry about an income. They already made the choice to retire because they had the financial security to live out their days on their savings or maybe a pension or government program. For many retirees, they will continue to get those paychecks no matter what happens. Sit back, relax (in quarantine), and nothing really changes for the most part financially. Actually, the cost of goods and services may go down, so this type of person may actually benefit. Other retirees who worked in the private sector for smaller employers are generally living off of their savings. With the hit to the stock market, their savings may look grim, and a lifestyle adjustment like returning to work (if they can get a job) or reducing typical expenses may be needed. This is a very rough situation to be part of. In either case, these retirees are at an age where they may feel a certain paranoia about the seriousness and complications that can arise from the virus that other younger folks are generally capable of fighting off. This uncertainty makes life challenging - even if finances are ok.
For those who are considered essential workers, this time may actually feel ok financially. Sure, the reality of the stock market crashing is not a great feeling, but we are all in it together. These people know their skills are needed to keep basic human needs flowing, so the paychecks will keep coming. That is one major stressor that may be absent, but it is likely shadowed by a different stressor: since they can’t hunker down in isolation, they are making themselves vulnerable at the workplace of contracting a potentially deadly virus they can pass onto their loved ones and random people unknowingly. The thought of getting or causing a serious illness would constantly weigh on the conscience. Imagine your family struggling with the challenges of being in quarantine and you come home to them every day from your job at a hospital which is essentially a Petri dish. That’s a major burden every day.
Another group of people are those who work for big corporations that have the ability to carry the overhead expenses of keeping their workers employed even though they are not making much money as a company. This group of people can go on with their sense of security knowing they will get a paycheck on payday. They just need to contend with the boredom of social distancing and possibly less of a workload to keep them busy during the work(from-home)day. If the virus sticks around, and the economy doesn’t recover for awhile, some of these workers will eventually be laid off, and they will be left without financial security and will be even more bored in their isolation. This could potentially become a large part of our population.
There is another group of people who is already in a vulnerable workforce such as a small business that is non-essential, and the doors have been closed by government mandate. These folks are already inevitably laid off and experiencing the stresses of financial insecurity and a job market that doesn’t have any current openings. It’s a grim outlook.
The final group of people are those who work for a business that is adapting. Maybe your role at your job is to do something completely different than you know or are supposed to be doing. Are you ok with that? Can you handle it? It may be weird, but you are likely just happy you have a job and can earn an income for you and your family. This is a “whatever-it-takes” personality, and this is what we all need right now. Personally, I grew up in a place that had a fragile economy, and this sense of just being happy to have a job was instilled in me. If you had the opportunity to take on more work, more hours, a side job, etc… you did, and you were happy to do it. Money was not easy to come by, so you seized all opportunities (or somebody else would). This is the mindset I have now and have always had.
We need to make the best out of a bad situation. By doing nothing, we won’t get anywhere. By figuring out something productive we can do, we can make a positive impact. Instead of being bored, be proactive. Write a novel. Rethink how you do your job. Plant a garden. Read the municipal codes and regulations for your job and city to understand how your job affects them and is affected by them. Call old friends. Cook meaningful meals. Take apart old electronics and try to understand how they work. Do some online classes and earn a degree or license. Plan for what you will do differently the next time this happens. Enjoy your family. Read proposed legislature in your state or city. Exercise. Build something. Sand the finish off of an old chair and redo it. Take pride in something. Take pride in yourself. Shift your thinking.
In the big picture, you have the chance to come out of this ahead.
If you’d like to learn more about our design process, visit www.josharch.com/process, and if you’d like to get us started on your project with a feasibility report, please visit www.josharch.com/help