The last two weeks have been tumultuous for everyone in my company. While we knew that the management was undergoing some changes, there were a lot of surprises that were sent our way. I suppose that we should have seen it coming, what with the never disappearing talk of the credit crunch and financial problems.
What happened was that 3 people in my team were let go. You can call it what you want but in effect, our team was downsized; without a warning – at least an explicit one. While I should be happy that I still have a job, I couldn’t help but wonder. What if it had happened to me? How long would I survive on the measly severance pay that would be given to me?
The only thing I can think of now is this: it is always a good idea to have some sort of business that can back you up if things do take a turn for the worse. One of my colleagues, for example, has been running a baked goods business for the last year. It is small, no doubt, but at least she has something to do in terms of income while she looks for another job. In the past, she saw it as a supplement to her regular income but I can just imagine how thankful she probably is that she has this small business to get her through.
Events like these are more than good enough reasons for us to make sure that we have something to back us up in case something happens.
What’s your back up plan?
Originally posted on November 25, 2010 @ 10:51 am