Being told that you no longer have a job is a very traumatic experience and it can affect everyone regardless of age, gender, education, and race. Retrenchment can be a life-threatening event because some people cannot handle the stress that it brings and some people even commit suicide as a last resort. 

Being retrenched means that you no longer have regular income and or lump sum of money to meet your basic or lifestyle needs. Thus, it is important for every person to grief and deal with the loss. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross- psychiatrist identifies five stages of grief that are:

1. Denial - "This can't be happening to me"
2. Anger - "Why is this happening?", "Who is to blame?", "After all I have done for this company!!!"
3. Bargaining -"Make this not happen, and in return I will...", "Perhaps I could work part time?"
4. Depression - "I'm too sad to do anything", "There's no point."; and
5. Acceptance - "I'm at peace with what happened and I am moving on."Cited: Leader, 2010.

Going through bad feelings is normal but the main challenge that many people go through is; how to deal with the grieving process, how to keep up your energy levels, how to remain motivated and optimistic; how, when and where to begin the job-seeking process, and how to prepare for job interviews.  

Nevertheless, it is important to understand that most of the feelings and emotions experienced after retrenchment are quite normal. Awareness about what the process entails is a useful tool for dealing with a situation.

Even though this process is so emotional and dispiriting, you cannot just sit and do nothing. Life goes on and you have bills to pay, you must take immediate actions to negotiate with your debtors and sort out your life. You have to evaluate your situation and calculate your outstanding debts.

Once you know how much you owe then you will need to decide how you will handle your debts. Alternatively, you should check if you qualify for UIF and if so claim as soon as possible. You must contact your creditors, explain your current situation, and negotiate some sort of payment arrangements you can make with them. Then you should start looking for a job immediately to reduce the amount of stress and time you are out of work. Finally yet most importantly, you need to review your monthly budget precisely. How do you review your budget?

You have to list all your expenses under two columns : "essential items" and "non-essential items." Examples of essential items are food, rent, and transport. Non-essential items can be gym and DSTV subscriptions. Once you draw this list, you will have a clearer picture of which expenses you can cut down on. Cited: Credithealth, 2010.

Sources:

• Leader
• Shapemag
• FSunion
• Resources4retrenched
• Credithealth

Updated: 23 March 2011

by Zanele Matshotyana