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It's Time for a Backup Plan

Stay calm, be optimistic, or just go back to school

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 8, 2009 2:50 PM CST

(Newser) – If you've gotten the ax or fear you're next, it’s time to prepare yourself without panicking, NPR reports. The American Psychological Association advises people to stay calm and make a financial plan to cope with tough times. "It's very hard, but try to stay focused in the present," one psychologist says. "It's a cliché, but it's really helpful right now to think about that."

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper lost an oil job in the 1980s, but bounced back by remembering his high school baseball days. "I found a level of confidence that I don't think I'd had before," he says. If you're an employer facing workers with layoff syndrome—which afflicts those whose colleagues are fired—talk to them openly about organizational problems to keep the workplace healthy.

[Images (2)]

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Recession-battered employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A woman looks at an employment listing at an Employment Development Department office in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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I actually began talking about and thinking about [the layoff] as the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I was just saying that this is going to be the chance of a lifetime. - Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

So much is unknown and we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop – the other shoes to drop. - Pilar Baca

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It's Time for a Backup Plan