3. Series: The Journey of an Unemployed Male

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From Fear to Acceptance – The Emotional Job Coaster

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Being told that you have lost your job is only the first step in a long emotional journey. The typical emotional rollercoaster experienced by someone who has lost a job is the feeling of rejection or a sense of failure;  anger or frustration; fear; and sometimes even depression.

Mike’s emotional road to acceptance went like this:

Relief – at first Mike felt a bit of relief as he had anticipated that he might be affected by the economic downturn. “I felt a bit of relief, so I wrapped up a few items at work and took the rest of the day off!”

Frustration – the feeling of relief was quickly replaced by a feeling of frustration. Mike had worked hard for Intrawest and he felt disappointed that the company had not been able to look after employees who were truly engaged and dedicated to making it a great company.  This period of frustration lasted 7 days.

Fear – Mike lost his job at a time when the headlines were riddled with tales of job loss and gloom and doom. “I became fearful that I may not find another company that was hiring.” This period of fear lasted the longest – 45 days.

Acceptance – Mike finally realized that he had no control over the situation at Intrawest. He was a high performer, had loved the company, had worked hard and yet – the economy forced a decision that was beyond his control. “I realized that I had no control over the decision, I could only control how I dealt with it and worrying was not going to make me productive in my search for the next great thing.”

What is especially interesting about Mike’s emotional ride to acceptance was that he tracked how he was feeling. Eventually after spending 45 fearful days – he took control of his situation and decided that he wasn’t going to let something that was out of his control prevent him from moving on.

This is when Mike “stood-up”, took control and decided not wallow in “what could have been” but to move on to something even better.