I'VE NEVER BEEN FIRED, BUT... (WEEK 235)

Reviewing the weekend-engagement topics that the Weekend Experiences community proposes every weekend, I found this one interesting to share with you my personal opinion.

Imagine you were fired from your job today meaning you'd have no income from tomorrow onwards. Does it affect you emotionally and mentally, how do you handle it, what steps do you take and why?

Experiences like this are not frequent in my country, that explains how, in spite of their inefficiency, there are people who keep their jobs. The firing of a worker, at least in the state-owned company, has to be justified with very serious faults. A protectionist mentality towards the worker prevails, often to the detriment of the economic interests of the company. Thus, we have companies that continue to operate despite their losses or services that are not of the required quality.

The other side of the coin reveals the low value that many workers place on keeping their jobs. The cause of this behavior is given by the low salaries that do not cover their needs. This reality leads them to perform other, more profitable tasks in the informal sector, which we euphemistically call here “the search”.

What has been written above allows us to put the unknowing reader in context. But let's move on to answer the question of the chosen topic by sharing my personal experience. To begin with, I will tell you that I have never been fired from any of the jobs I have worked in. In my more than 35 years of work, I have changed workplace, but almost always by my own decision, in search of some kind of improvement. I write almost always, because on one occasion the change was due to the closing of the company. In this case, the provincial authority offered me a job, so everything ended with a transfer within the same sector in which I worked.

I think that a job layoff always has some kind of impact on the person who is laid off. At least for the time until they find a new job. Most people focus on solving the problem, and the layoff does not leave important consequences.

Since I started my working life, in addition to my main job, I have always been employed in some other job in parallel. Even before the law allowed multi-employment, I managed to do it. My profession has mainly been related to the development and implementation of computerized business management systems.

However, I have worked as a translator of scientific and technical texts, university teacher, accountant; always looking for alternative sources of income and self-improvement. Therefore, I think that, if I had ever been laid off, it would not have been difficult for me to find a new occupation.

I would like to share with you something that I have also held as a principle throughout my working life. I think many of you practice it as well. I am referring to having savings that allow you to face possible eventual contingencies without causing great damage to your family's finances. It's about having a little bit of foresight for the future.

In short, I've never been fired, but I don't think that a layoff would cause major disruptions in my emotional or mental behavior. Even now, when I am approaching retirement, and that could be against me, I think I would find attractive offers in the labor market. In the field in which I work, accumulated experience counts. Besides, I could always try other alternative ways to obtain the necessary income. Here is an example of what I am telling you. Five years ago I knew nothing about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and today I am sharing content on Hive, even though I still don't understand many things about this world.

Thanks to our host @galenkp for the weekend invitation and to everyone who made it this far. Have a happy weekend.

_{San José del Lago Thermal Baths. Mayajigua. Cuba.}

---

_{✏️ Original content by @leopard0
✒️ Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
📸 Own pictures}