Ford RIF of 8,000 - Don't Duck the Pain

 "Ford Motor Co. is preparing to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in the coming weeks as the automaker tries to boost profits to fund its push into the electric-vehicle market, according to people familiar with the plan." - Bloomberg, July 20, 2022.

Sure, there are those in human resources and career consulting who will position and package this Reduction-in-Force (RIF) as an opportunity. Look, they might say, you can now gain access to your dream job. That's what was heaped on me when part of a RIF at a major food corporation. 

To me that is downright toxic positivity. What they should have said: You will cry, probably for a longer time than you expected. Yes, I did cry and it was for a longer time than I anticipated.

A little background (in addition to getting put out on the street in middle age). I had begun doing intuitive coaching during in 2009. My communications clients, especially those over-50, were losing their jobs or major assignments. It was like the play-out of when the firm in "Mad Men" had lost the Lucky Strike account. Yes, a catastrophe.

Those who moved the most effectively to a next were those totally realistic about the financial, emotional, and social suffering they were going through. A big piece of that was the willingness to mourn for what had been and was no more. I gave them copies of executive coach Henry Cloud's iconic book on change "Necessary Endings."  

What Cloud put out there in the 21st century had been what Judith Viorst had shocked us with in the 20th. That was a her book "Necessary Losses." She hammered we had to let go of what had been and that was that. At the time many of us boomers were struggling with changes in relationships and work that we hadn't seen coming. Viorst's book remains a brisk seller on Amazon. It ranks 48,294.

So what guidance can I provide the 8,000 at Ford who will experience this necessary ending? And if you get caught up in a RIF elsewhere?

What I have learned from hands-on coaching and mastering The Tarot (Incidentally, The New York Times salutes The Tarot as a useful tool for self-awareness) is this: Don't resist the pain. Society is eager to help you duck it through excessive positivity. Yes, they tell you, the "they" gave you an okay package. Yes, you have marketable skills. Yes, you are willing to relocate. 

But you have to "own" the pain. If you don't, what I have found, is that rage will build up within you. Those internal wires will keep blinking. That rage is bound to break free in dangerous ways.

Would a complimentary few minutes be helpful to tell me where you are? I welcome making an appointment with you. No selling my services. I operate on attraction, not promotion. 

My name is Jane Genova. Contact points janegenova374@gmail.com or texting at 203-468-8579.

Purpose-driven intuitive career coaching, including Tarot Readings. For more information or a complimentary consultation, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579.