On the job of being jobless
For those who’ve never lacked for work, one surprising thing I’ve found in my two months and one week of being laid off over the course of my life is that it’s not a vacation. While the daily rhythm is certainly more self-directed and mellower than when you’re working, I’ve never yet been bored. This was true for the two months I was jobless in early 2023, and it’s been the case for the week I’ve been on administrative leave currently from my federal government job.
Thanks to the packet my employer sent me, which I opened just yesterday, I now know that my team and I have been placed on administrative leave for the next two months. It’s weird — and old school — to be laid off via the U.S. mail. (Though as a former mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, I suppose I approve of this delivery method.)
To this day, no one in a position of authority has ever communicated to me that, well, I’ve been laid off. Let alone why my agency decided to almost entirely eliminate what was a productive and effective communications department. I digress. That’s neither the point of this blog post nor my concern. Looking ahead, not backwards, is what will keep me occupationally and emotionally on track.
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So this layoff packet did have a certain ring of finality to it. As far as I can tell, according to the paperwork and the experiences of my colleagues, we’re all technically employed yet not working until December 9. After that time, I assume, we’ll get some measure of severance, which the packet also kind of detailed. It really wasn’t a complete presentation of information, such as whether we are being paid out for our previously accumulated vacation, etc. etc.
Bottom line is that it appears, thank goodness, that my colleagues and I have some breathing room during this transitional time. I have been using this period to pursue the Plan B that I’d envisioned should we have been laid off. This pursuit has been surprisingly busy, educational, and just plain engaging.
I’m trying to see if I can self-fund a business opportunity, so that I can become employed again but with myself as the employer. I’m not sure I want to work for anyone (or anything) on a long-term basis. I do feel like my coworkers and I have been burned — and perhaps burned out in the process. So I’m not eager to work for someone else, at least not right away.
Stay tuned for what’s next. And please keep my colleagues in your prayers, if you believe in that sort of thing. I can’t think of a single one of the approximately 25 other members of my communications department who were all laid off last week who I would not hire myself.
To these fine folks, I’m wishing all of them the best of luck. I’m here if you want to talk and I’ll continue checking in on you.
