The Upside of Being Laid Off

Hearing CNN's Anderson Cooper report on another 700,000 additional layoffs for the month of February, brought to mind a few conversations I have had recently with three professionals who were recently laid off.

These three mid-career professionals were laid off from well paid positions in the pharmaceutical sales, home security and retail management positions.

It appeared that once the initial shock and anxiety of being laid off, started to dissipate, all three were actually now seeing some of the possible upsides of being laid off:

Here were some of their thoughts:

1. All three unemployed workers thought being laid off was giving them time to think about and possibly execute a successful career change.

2. Two expressed less much less workplace and life stress once the pink slip had actually arrived. Both claimed that the company wide anxiety and speculation pre-lay off was more stressful.

3. All three were thinking about additional education and training. One wanted advanced training in a related field and two others were considering new careers completely.

4. Two were pretty serious about wanting to start a business. One was interested in a property management company while the other was thinking of an in-home child care business. Both thought the severance settlements and unemployment payments would offer a financial buffer to start a business.

5. One felt that layoff forced her family to examine their personal spending habits and life choices. It seemed once they looked at their budget, they realized they could improve the situation with her as a stay-at-home parent. After child care and eating out expenses, she felt a work-at-home business might help them net more income in the long run.

6. All three realized they needed to consider multiple income streams for the future. One, who was already burned in the dot com collapse was again suffering from being down sized in the so called recession-proof pharmaceutical industry.

Of course times are tough for everyone, but it is important to maintain our collective sanity by encouraging each other to consider the upside of being laid off. As people ponder the future, many are staying positive about the future.