"Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat." One could perhaps be forgiven for suspecting that Irish writer, Elizabeth Bowen, had just received notice of her redundancy when she wrote these words.
Redundancy does, indeed, seem to creep up and pounce on the victim, leaving them stunned and powerless. Along with divorce, moving house and the loss of a loved one, it is one of the emotional bullyboys of life. Just under 600,000 people (or 6% of people with jobs) are retrenched in Australia each year - twice the US rate.
If you have fallen prey, however, there is hope. Rather than listen to empty platitudes, take stock of the situation, digest it and discover how to move on. And that's what this book is really about - regaining charge of your life, whether by getting fair payout entitlements or by finding another position.
Written by psychologist, David West, the book includes information on:
- The shock: the first response
- Where am I now?: the light at the end of the tunnel, financial matters, your entitlements, redundancy and women, redundancy and men, redundancy and age, superannuation
- Where do I want to go?: what work means to you, refocusing, a plan of action, choosing a career, your own business
- Getting There: training and education, networking, resumes and CVs, dealing with Centrelink
