Surviving Unemployment-The Emotional Trip

When he came through the door that morning, I knew immediately things were not right. By the time I got to the kitchen to meet him, he was almost in tears. I asked him what happened and he said he had been let go from his job.

Our first reaction was total shock. We knew people everywhere were getting laid off, but this was not a layoff and this wasn't everyone else. This was us.

A man who had went to work nearly everyday for over 30 years and always knew he could get a job, was now totally befuddled. He was struggling just to believe it. I could see the fear in his face. He knew he was 53 years old and that with the economy, this was going to be a hard test.

After the initial shock, I think anger was probably the next emotion that took over. Anger at his employer for lying to make the firing sound right and anger that after dedicated service for over 5 years, this was possible. We were also angry that instead of just laying him off, he chose to find a lie as an excuse to try and get out of paying unemployment. Was he so hard up for money, he had to lie to try and save a dollar at the expense of someone else?

Expensive Argentinian vacations, a new ski vacation home in Fairplay, Co, the best colleges for their kids, new vehicles, hanging with the Rotary Club crowd and more obvious wastes. Being more concerned with floor sweeping and other non essential activities vs getting a good, quality product out the door.
Lack of involvement in the actual operation, hiring day care workers as supervisors and many other inexperienced supervisors, adding job duties and descriptions to employees that didn't have anything to do with proper operation or with their job description. And the worst interjection of new thinking was allowing a Yuppie attitude to be their guiding force.

The biggest management joke was their human resource practices. Using an outside, Human Resource Co called Employer's Resources of Colorado for about 20 employees, using higher cost temps to do jobs, holding meeting after meeting, day after day, educational classes on getting along with your co-workers and other ridiculous time consuming things that proved to be unrelated to running a manufacturing company. It was any which way the wind blew. Any new idea that came down the pike, these people got involved. The money they wasted on this was phenomenal.

Nepotism, fraternization by many and many more errors of management were implemented. If owners were hung over, which seemed to be a regular process, employees were treated as the owners felt that day. No pattern, no consistency. Whatever the problem of the day, the employees felt the wrath. That is what fueled the anger we were feeling those first weeks. Whose fault does it become, when the people running the business are irresponsible and negligent and it results in YOU losing YOUR job?

As you can see, Anger was the most prevalent emotion in the first days. Actually, a better description would be we were mad as hell. Then we got busy.

We did all of the things that you do when you lose a job. We got online and filed for his unemployment, even though we weren't sure we would get it, and we started looking for other employment.

The days at first were full of activity. Sending out resumes, going around to local shops and trying to feel busy. I attempted to get more hours on my job. I looked for other part time work. It all proved to be just that, busy work. Our efforts, as has been with the millions of others has been futile.

It has now been almost 2 months since he was let go. We finally got the unemployment. It appears that Employers Resources of Colorado and Qualtek Mfg. tried to fight the unemployment, but because of our rebuttal and lack of provable facts from them, it was approved. That was one bear down and many more to go.

As we have listened over and over again to the news, it doesn't appear to be good. Millions of people have exhausted their unemployment and still are not getting any closer to working. We are wondering what will happen. To date, we have not received any offers for anything. Even things that are less money and more work.

Being unemployed is definitely a challenge. We are trying to stay positive. We are lucky that we don't have massive credit card debt or expensive payments. We just have the home we bought last year, after being reassured by Qualtek owner, Tony Fagnant that my husband's job was secure. We are hoping to stay in Colorado Springs, but if the economy doesn't look any better in the next year, we probably won't be able to.

We have tightened our belts and have started digging into our survival bag of knowledge. We were already saving our change, so that has expanded. We are holding on the what's left of the 401k. If we don't need it, we don't get it sort of attitude has become more pronounced in our day to day lives. We have planted a bigger garden than usual and are saving more leftovers.

We are both discussing taking some classes to advance our chances to go back to work. In the tool and die business, my husband need to be more technologically savvy to compete with the up and coming new generation of manufacturing people. I have realized, I need more management training to be able to be a viable force in this crisis of lack of jobs.

We know that with the age factor and with the way our economy is, unemployment at best is going to be hard. Surviving it means people will have to pull together, get smarter and work harder.

I know that over the last years, Americans have gotten spoiled, living the good life. I have too. Now, we are getting a reality check. There has never been such a thing as a free ride. At some point, the piper gets paid.

Surviving this horrible time in so many people's lives, means returning to a state of mind that our parents and grandparents knew so well. Trying to keep a positive frame of mind, finding your religion and living within your means are the keys to survival. You also have to be willing to let go of material thinking. You can replace things is a good way to look at it. We are trying to do all of those things.

We continue to send resumes, be frugal and to look for work. Hopefully, education and time for the economy to heal, will be the answer down the road. Surviving unemployment means you have to just keep on trying. Giving up and getting terribly depressed is not an option for us. They say, " Necessity is the Mother of Invention". You don't get there by quitting.

Our hope and prayer is that the millions of people who are in the same situation, find hope each day to struggle on, looking for that all famous "light at the end of the tunnel". A renewed economy and jobs and a better respect for themselves and their lives. Unemployment and the strife that comes with it, tends to make you appreciate the important things a little more.