It’s difficult to walk blindfolded, right? The situation we are in right now, with news pouring about the pandemic, isn’t all that different either. No one knows what lies ahead. The illusion of being indispensable has been broken and a deep sense of insecurity is all we’re left with.
Unsurprisingly, job uncertainty has quickly climbed to the top of the “most stressful workplace problems” list. It’s causing severe psychological distress, a high degree of anxiety, affecting our financial security and threatening one’s sense of identity. Job uncertainty is a game of the mind. It plays out when we let our surroundings and the news decide how we feel instead of getting facts and information from our closest managers and colleagues.Here are 7 ways to deal with job uncertainty:
1. Stay away from media and gossip.
When times are uncertain, it’s tempting to switch on the news in hope of helpful information and clarity. But the media cannot always be trusted. Plus, even if you do find a news broadcaster that is 100% honest, bad news will remain bad news. It will continue to stress you out. When everything around you seems gloomy and uncertain, the best thing to do is to get out of the endless news cycles, switch off from the world, and spend time with yourself. If you can’t completely shut yourself off from the news, look at it objectively as a comment on current world crises, instead of taking it personally and becoming emotionally attached. It’s easier said than done, we understand that, but it doesn’t hurt to try.2. Hold back on your worries just a little bit.
Stress is contagious and nobody likes being stressed. The solution: Hold back on sharing your stress immediately. Yes, we’ve all been told that sharing a burden lightens it, makes it manageable, but we need to be extra careful about what we share during a crisis; as if a super-contagious virus isn’t enough for the world already.3. Find the source of your uncertainty.
Uncertainty is mostly subjective. For example, you might be an invaluable asset to your team, yet still feel like you’re next in line to receive the dreaded pink slip. At such times, it helps to understand where your uncertainty stems from and why you doubt your work and capabilities. What you find could be less about your performance on the job and more about deep-rooted psychological issues.4. Continue to work on your skills.
There is no excuse to put learning and self-development on the back-burner. Technology, economies, markets, business environments, etc., are more volatile and capricious than ever now. Employees who understand these fluctuations and are prepared for them are always more valuable to the company. Remember, no knowledge or skill is ever wasted. There is always a situation where one’s education, experience, skill, or intuition comes to the rescue. The more you know, the better equipped you are to grow your company, especially in uncertain times. Worst case scenario — even if you do end up losing your job today, all your skills and knowledge will be valuable when you interview for other jobs. So keep learning, always.5. Believe in yourself.
Yes, it can be extremely stressful to not know if you’re going to be employed tomorrow. But don’t let that affect your performance and sanity. Remember, some of the brightest minds have been asked to leave organisations because of factors outside of their control. So don’t consider getting fired as a poor score on your capabilities. Be kind to yourself, especially now when half of the world is out of a job. The only way ahead is to believe in yourself and continue working on your skills. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one is going to take a chance on you.6. Plan for contingencies.
We know that life is unpredictable, the pandemic being just the latest reminder for many of us. Yet too many of us don’t use this knowledge to equip ourselves for unpredictable situations and contingencies. A contingency fund relieves economic stress. Investing in varied skills offers you more job opportunities in difficult times. And the knowledge that anything could go wrong prepares you for the worst of the situations.7. Remember, it’s a cycle.
Today’s uncertain and volatile markets will soon settle down and economies will recoup. New and many job opportunities will crop up. Everyone and everything will heal. There is no other way but this. There is proof of this in stock market cycles. An economic boom is always followed by recession or depression. Once we hit rock bottom, we can only go up. Therefore, keep reminding yourself that it’s a cycle and plan well for contingencies, and you’ll sail through most storms with ease and calm.
Here’s some food for thought: Why do we consider being fired a bad thing? Is a 9-5 job the only way for you to survive? Ask yourself what would you be doing if you weren’t stuck behind a desk and counting hours? How would you earn your bread if working for a company wasn’t an option? What out-of-the-world, exciting, adrenal-pumping work would you be doing then?
Meetings are a mainstay of modern workplace communication, and for good reason. Done right, meetings aid collaboration, creativity, innovation, and inclusivity among teams. A study1 by ResearchGate reveals that over 50% of respondents considered their meetings productive and only 15% complained about them being a waste of time.
Yet, many of us hear superiors say, “If you’re invited to a meeting, we expect you to speak up. Don’t wait for someone to ask you.”
So, when you can’t find your voice in a meeting or if you’re getting interrupted too often when you try to speak, here are a few ways to make yourself heard in meetings.
7 Ways to Make Your Voice Heard in Meetings.