Most people (I like to call them company people) are so sucked in by the allure of their jobs and careers that they become blindsided and refuse to acknowledge the reality of job loss. They fail or refuse to plan for life after employment and find themselves out in the cold when this happens. Mind you, I am not saying that being an employee is a bad thing (although none of the richest people in Nigeria and indeed the world are strictly employees but that is a topic for another day), what I'm driving at is that people fail to plan for job loss and the possibility that they may be unable to re-enter the job market because of economic and other constraints. As a result they end up devastated and bitter.
Ask some of the odd 20,000 bank staff who have lost their cushy and well-paid jobs over the last 36 months (more will still have to go) about their experiences and 80% will give you ‘’stories that touch the heart’’. Most left with little or nothing. As a matter of fact most left with huge debts as benefits were set off against loans taken. (As far as I know the Oil and Gas sector is perhaps the only sector in our economy with a near acceptable compensation structure for letting people go). All other sectors appear to use and dump!
I am currently helping a gentleman who was an Assistant General Manager in a bank, build a business. The story he told me brought tears to my eyes. He told me that in one day his world came crashing down after 12 years of meritorious service. Everything he held dear was taken from him. His jeep, generator, laptop and other things, even his blackberry were taken. He was left with a debt of about 25 million naira and constantly harassed by the bank (his former friends and colleagues) to pay up, meanwhile they had applied commercial rates (imagine!).
He had no car to get home; there was no car to take the children to school the next day. His cash flow dried up, and he could no longer pay his children’s fees in the highbrow school they attend. He had to start selling personal effects to be able to even feed his family properly. His friends stopped taking his calls and worst of all, he was not been able to get another job anywhere (he studied biology and has worked in banking operations all his life, with basically no other sell-able skills). He had no idea as to what to do with his life. He was totally floored by the prospect of starting life again. By the time he found me, he was a wreck!
We have worked very hard to get him back on track. He now has a viable business proposition and actually now sees his lay off as divine intervention. (Personally, it is his turn round that I see as the result of divine intervention) He is one of the lucky 20% who will be able to reverse their fortunes and adapt, having made no plans for life after employment (not retirement, which a pension is supposed to cater for). The remaining 80% will struggle to make ends meet as they continue to search for other jobs, enduring diminishing net worth and considerable loss of quality of life and social status. They may never get the job re-entry they desperately need and unless they get professional help 90% will fail in their attempt at self-employment.
Do something for me please. Close your eyes for 10 minutes and imagine that due to no fault of yours your position has been out sourced and you have just been told by your very good friend who is the head of HR that you have been fired! Imagine the consequences for you and your family? What resources do you have? What is your fallback position? How will you cope? Can you still afford the rent or mortgage and school fees now overdue? Where will you go from here? Your friends and former colleagues are now avoiding you. There is no one to help. What’s your plan B? Do you even have one?
I guess most of you could not go the entire 10 minutes because a nightmare was unfolding right before your eyes, right? I have decided to shock you today with this wake up call. Assume that you have lost your job today and begin to put things in place that will secure your future income streams and earning potential. It is never too late to start. My calling is to create wealth and help others do so. My future blogs will throw more light on what needs to be done, but if you are so frightened by the vision you just had and need to jump-start the process, you can contact me for assistance.
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