The Freedom of Moving On

Jim Read ,  The Jakarta Post - WEEKENDER   |  Tue, 05/19/2009 7:24 PM  |  Said & Done

A few months ago I became what is euphemistically referred to as “another casualty of the global recession”.

I lost my job as part of a downsizing exercise carried out by our HQ in Singapore: It was understandable in the final analysis, given the extent to which the economy is contracting over there.

Things have never been so bad since the founding of the small city state in the 1960s. Stories are emerging that people are taking pay cuts ranging from 5 to 20 percent just to enable their employers to stay above water.

I could see that something drastic was going to happen, sooner or later, given the financial performance of the company I was working for. I’d therefore mentally prepared myself in advance, thinking about what I’d need to do should the ax finally fall.

When it did, everything occurred very fast. My colleagues and I were informed on the Monday afternoon that the following day would be our last at work. Some were visibly shocked by the news: Clearly, they had been in some kind of denial, for I had quite openly dicussed our bleak prospects with them months ago.

I’m speculating now, but wouldn’t be surprised if some had incurred hefty debts (apart from the usual monthly outgoings like housing costs, etc.)  that needed a regular monthly pay transfer to service.

That’s especially true these days, given the credit-card companies’ siren-like blandishments to spend, spend, spend that have become so hard to resist. The severance payments we received were reasonable, but obviously were only designed to tide us over for a few months at best.

We were only a small office – just under 10 people in total – and all but two of us were leaving. With barely time to say our goodbyes – let alone organize a farewell party – we found ourselves all too quickly surrendering our office keys and executing a final logout from our computer terminals.

I had just about enough time to send out a mass e-mail to regular contacts of mine informing them of my rather sudden change in circumstances. The shocked silence from most said it all; the words of comfort from those who did reply also carried the unspoken message that they weren’t expecting the recession to have such an impact quite so close to home, quite so soon.     

The reality, though, is that the shock of redundancy seems far worse to innocent bystanders than actual victims. As one of the latter, you find, sooner or later, that an almost primeval instinct to survive kicks in and prevents you from wallowing in self-pity.

At the most practical level, you realise that you’ll have to find a way to start earning money again soon, whether it’s via another regular job or piecemeal work.

Searching for new sources of gainful employment has proved to be a reassuring experience. People are keen to assist in whatever ways they can; with it comes a slow but sure realization that things may not be as dire in that “big bad world” as one imagines them to be from the relative comfort of an office desk.

Perhaps most positive of all has been the feeling of new-found freedom – a kind of release from the shackles, timetables and petty office rules that must be observed as a regular employee.

I am now becoming the master of my own work schedule: I can work precisely as and when I want to, provided I meet ultimate project deadlines and complete enough assignments to maintain a reasonable level of income.  

If I prefer to get up late on a weekday or spend the time on a workout at the apartment swimming pool – no problem – as long as I balance it out with work done at another time. Should that turn out to mean working a little on a Sunday morning –  no problem either, because that is what I’ve decided to do.

Perhaps most gratifying of all is the comfort of knowing that as my own boss I’m not subject to my decisions being overruled or having to obtain approval from a line manager whose geographical remoteness from where it’s all happening can make it hard for appropriate direction to be dispensed.

As a writer, I’m in the fortunate position of being able to work from home so the grind of the daily journey to work – which causes huge amounts of stress and waste (of both time and energy) – has been eliminated altogether.

In a congested city like Jakarta that is truly a blessing and a benefit that the more envionmentally savvy are increasingly coming to enjoy, whether or not in regular, full-time employment.

When all’s said and done the experience of losing a job need not necessarily be viewed as a disaster: Depending on how you choose to move on, it may become a release, too.

+ Jim Read   

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