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Healthy Living > Community > Redundancy and Career Support Hub > Understanding change and taking the first step towards your future
Blog Article | | | By The Simplyhealth Team | 27 November 2020 |
Change is all around us in life, especially at work during transformational times. Redundancy is a word most people have heard before, but until you are directly affected, it's hard to know how you will cope in that situation. It's normal for each person going through this degree of change to react quite differently.
The more we understand about how any change impacts us personally at an emotional level, the more choices we have about how we respond. Also, keep in mind that the feelings you have now will change as you start your next job search and look to the future.
This article guide helps you understand change and start to think about the things you can do to move forward with a clear plan.
Your perspective on change
The impact any change has on us and the way we respond ultimately determines our ability to bounce back and move forward healthily and positively.
If you're struggling to come to terms with a work change, it will come through in the way you interact with others, which might limit your success when trying to secure your next role.
If you have moved on, your message will be more positive, and you will be able to focus on describing your skills and achievements with more confidence.
Let's next look at how we respond to change.
The change curve
The Change Curve is a useful way of looking at how you might be feeling in response to change. As mentioned previously, people react to change differently and can move through these stages in different ways. It explains the emotional side of career transition, giving you further insights and tips for success.
Look at where you are on the change curve. Make a note. Now, look at where you'd like to be.
Emotional survival tactics
During any time of transition, the experience is like being on an emotional roller-coaster, and people experience any combination of reactions, from shock, denial, anger, sadness, guilt, anxiety, fear, relief and maybe even excitement.
It is usual to experience at least a few of these. Some of the reactions are more acute at the beginning. It's important to understand that some or all of them may occur over the following months until things normalise again. Regardless, identifying how you're feeling can be very helpful in moving forward. Think about the following:
Three things to help you manage your emotions
Want more?
We recently teamed up with author Liggy Webb, her eBook Adapting to change may provide you with the positive outlook you need whilst dealing with change.
Or take a look at our building resilience articles, under the mind section on our healthy living hub.
We hope you found this article useful, don’t forget that with your Simplyhealth plan you have access to counselling and advice services should you need some additional support.
You're in article 1 of our 5-part series, read the others here:
2. Your guide to personal branding
3. Develop your social media presence
4. Enhance your skills
5. Let the job search begin
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