They came, they hired, they
sacked!
#Yahoo
is #laying off hundred's of its employees at its #Banglore center in India in
one of its restructuring exercises. The news is a disaster to all those who
were sacked and lesson to all those who believe that 'I work in an MNC' story
never ends.
Yahoo
is offering them five month's pay as severance. Now a days when a lot of people
live from pay check to pay check, either by choice or by forced circumstances,
we can imagine, how long will this money last!
Amid
all resistance and cries...the fact prevails...Within hours of the decision
being announced, we have more than 400 employees rather more than 400 families
worrying about their next loan EMIs, medical bills and school fees. While some
of these families may sail through the situation because of family support or
earning spouse, there may be a lot who are clueless till they find out another
source of income. Whatever is the situation, the blow of loosing a handsome job
will be hard to get over!
Though,
how one can cope with this professional yet financial and personal distress
will depend on his or her #Financial Landscape and emotional capacity to bear
it, there are some quick action items that can help.
Current
Action Items:
1. Keep
Calm:
Easier
said than done... try not to let your blood pressure shoot and create health
problems for you. It will only increase the amount of medical bills for you.
Remember,
just couple of years back, in year 2008, a lot people in America and the other
parts of the world have suffered because of recession. They were sacked, lost
their investments and were rejected in personal lives. Yet they survived and
finally got their lives back.
In
contrast to those days, today, economic sentiments in India are positive, lot
of investment has been promised and hence there can be various opportunities
for you to explore. So focusing on updating your resume and linked in profile
will be more useful. Also tap your network, it is the time to take some help.
2. Keep
your severance packet safe:
You may
be lucky to bag an offer at a lesser known firm and may be feeling relaxed. You
may be wondering about how to use your severance...Keep it safe!
Do not invest it in buying
financial products and policies which are risky and illiquid. Until your future
source of income is secure and regular, you may need this money so invest the
money in safe instruments like Fixed Deposit.
3. Buy
Medical Insurance:
Despite
several articles being written by the financial planners about why one should
buy extra medical insurance, a lot of professionals in jobs rely solely on the
medical insurance provided by their employers.
In current situation, where you
have lost your job, you have also lost the medical insurance cover provided by
your company! So buy medical insurance as early as possible if you already do
not have one.
4.
Decrease your EMI:
You may
not be able to change you regular expenses like grocery bills or rent or school
fees but there is a possibility of bringing change in your one major
expenditure ie Loan EMIs!
If you
are paying loan EMI or EMIs, either on home loan or car loan or credit card,
ask your bank to Increase the term and Reduce the amount of monthly EMI. You
can later increase it again to pay off your loan faster. Also you may negotiate
hard for getting some EMI holiday period.
5. Involve your family:
By now your family may have already got the news, it will be helpful to share all your fear and tension with them...they can be your pillar of strength in this difficult time!
If you have grown up children they may have
heard it from outside as well, prepare them to face the questions asked by
their friends. Let them know that it is a passing phase and also a challenge of
working in a dynamic environment. Let them understand, how much it is important
to save money and always have a back up professional plan ready!
Hope
the above action item will help some!
As a #Financial Planner, I offer to consult #Yahoo employees without any charges at this point of time!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About
the author: Shilpi Johri is a ‘Financial Planner’ and
does Comprehensive Financial Planning for individuals. She also counsel
individuals & families on matters of personal finance. She writes and
conducts workshops on various aspects of personal finance.
To read
more about her work, please visit:
Facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/shilpijohricfp
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS1HsIkStR0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Image courtesy: computing.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment