Dealing with job loss

Move on. As you pack your things out of that office, accept your fate and move on. Photo by Rachel Mabala.

In the last two years, the economy has experienced sluggish growth constraining the business environment that is increasingly being disrupted by rapid changes in technology.
As a result, jobs have been lost and companies are cutting back on investment and recruitment of human resources, which in essence is worsening the already struggling job market.
In 2017 alone more than 5,000 have lost their jobs with the most relatable case being the 400 workers who had joined Dfcu Bank from defunct Crane Bank.
Companies such as MTN, Africell, Kakira Sugar Works, Pepsi and Monitor Publications, among others, reports indicate, have let workers go home citing slowed revenue growth and disruptions by technology.
Such times, according to Wilson Muheirwe, a human resource manager at Ham Holdings, are the most difficult for any company and if they are not well handled they might turn out disastrous.
“It is not any fun for an employer to lay off workers. It comes after a lot of sacrifice. Employers are always compelled by the brutal dynamics of the market,” he says.
Job loss is not alien to Uganda, it is a well spread problem but becomes more brutal in Africa where there is an acute scarcity of jobs.
According to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an outplacement firm in the US, the country’s energy sector alone laid off some 255,000 employees in 2017 with additional causalities in the service sector of at least a million jobs were lost.
Losing a job is a painful reality but one should know that it is not the end of the world.
The most important thing is finding it within yourself to accept without blaming anyone for your fate.
According to Muheirwe, the company has interests and in times when things are hard, it has to find a way of surviving.
Therefore, if you become the victim of the hard times, accept and move on that is if you have been handled respectfully and in accordance with the law.
“The owners of the business want it afloat. So they have got to let some people go. Move on and look for new opportunities,” he says.
As an employee, you should learn how to handle a job loss as below

Be prepared
After an employer has assessed the impact of a restructuring process, Muheirwe says, they will proceed look out for who to let go irrespective of their contribution.
Therefore, he says, always be prepared and never be sure of not being among the people to let go.
“Avoid that false confidence. Be prepared to go. Otherwise you might not handle a surprise if you are part of the victims,” he says.

Demand respect from employer
It does not matter at which level an employee is. Employees that are being laid off, according to Muheirwe, must be respected, counselled and compensated for the loss.
“Why do you have to summon people to your small office that is located in the middle of other office to tell them of their fate? Be professional. It does not hurt to take such an exercise in a scheduled place or even off site. Otherwise, you risk taking away concentration from other workers,” he says.

Build a network
Social networks are the best thing you can have in times of a job loss. Therefore, build them “as long as you are in a position to do so”.
“Connect with other people who can employ you. They might not be potential employers but they might know someone who has an opportunity,” says Mary Gorreti Nalubega, the human resource manager at Café Divine.

Save and save
However hard it might be, according to Nalubega, always find that extra coin to put on the side to prepare for eventuality that might have no sight in end.
“When you are still earning, save as much as you can for the hard times,” she says, outlining that you might save through a Sacco, bank or a group saving scheme.

Hold your head high
In such circumstances, some people tend to lose confidence, which in the end might work aginst them.
However, according to Henry Nsubuga, a career development facilitator, do not undermine your potential because you have lost a job.
“Get up and show your former boss that losing you was a bad idea. This can only be achieved if you maintain a high degree of confidence,” he says.