If you are afraid of losing your job. What to do if you are afraid of losing your job: four tips to help you overcome it Why are people so afraid of losing their jobs

Fear that a loved one will leave, fall out of love, cool down... Fear that a tragedy will happen to loved ones. Tremor from the words “dismissal”, “loss of public image” or “bankruptcy”. You can call these emotions fear of loss.

Fear of loss is a destructive thing because it forces us to shift our focus from what we have: loved ones, work, health, material things, and shift our attention to potential danger: the situation when we lose all this.

Read our article about the nature of fear of losses and ways to get rid of it.

Why does fear of losses arise?

Many fears are genetically programmed in people; they are useful for survival. For example, fear of snakes: a person will not build a dwelling next to a den. Or the fear of losing a partner: in a woman it was formed evolutionarily, due to the difficulties in raising children alone if the man disappears.

Now the situation has changed a little, but the worries remain. Is it possible to do something with them? Yes.

Why is fear increasing?

It's normal to be afraid. There is no need to talk about fearlessness. It doesn't happen. It's just a matter of how you approach fear. Taking him too seriously? When you start to be afraid, is it difficult to stop? And instead of breathing and calming down, you begin to think of even more tragic circumstances?

This is all called - feed fear. By betraying meaning, you grow this beast inside yourself. Where our attention is, there is our energy. Thinking that your husband will leave/your health will deteriorate/you will be fired from your job, you only intensify the experience of fear.

First step: acceptance

Accept fear. If you start to be afraid, you don’t need to immediately deny: “I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid”... This will not help. Tell yourself: “Yes, I’m scared now, my heart is starting to beat faster, I’m sweating and shaking.” Such recognition of the fact is already reassuring, because energy is not wasted on resistance.

Fear of fear only makes the situation worse.

Step two: perspectives

For example, you are afraid of losing your job. After all, you are paid a salary: you can pay for housing, food, vacation, new things. And then you begin to fear being fired. Immediately thoughts: another job pays less, there will be less money, and you still have to look...

But instead of being afraid, ask yourself with perspective: what's next? What's beyond this line? Well, if I lose my job, what will happen to me?

Perhaps you will find a better paying job. Or you will understand what you really wanted to do. Or take a few months off from offices and people.

Even then you will get used to the new circumstances: new job, team, salary.

Or are you afraid that your husband will leave for someone else. And that will be?

Millions of couples break up. And no one died from this. You will cry a little, but in time you will return to a new life. You will be able to laugh and be happy again. Because any emotions are temporary.

Think about prospects, not failures.

Step three: readiness

This does not mean living with the thought: “I will die.” This means being prepared for losses. Yes, one day your wallet may be stolen. Yes, one day you might get fired. Yes, your man can leave for someone else. There is no need to blur your eyes with the phrases: “This will never happen to me.” Be prepared for the fact that anything can happen.

This is not an easy step, but it is important to recognize that there is always danger. And not just one, but a whole mass. This is not a reason to get emotional.

Exercises

#1: Embrace Fear

Let the fear of loss into yourself. Don’t deny it, but on the contrary, accept this feeling, look into it, and strengthen it.

Mentally allow the fear to go away. Let go. Repeat these points until you feel the fear receding.

#2: Overcome Fear

Move through the fear. For example, you are afraid to speak in front of an audience. And you do this to overcome fear.

The same can be done, for example, with trust in your husband. Are you afraid that without your control he will go on a drinking spree and come back a week later with an offer to divorce? Trust. Let go. Don't call and ask what he's doing.

Only when you see that he has not disappeared anywhere will there be less fear.

#3: Breathe

When you are afraid, breathe deeply, especially into your belly. Inhale and exhale slowly for 4-10 counts. Don't hold your breath as you exhale.

#4: Relax your body

If you feel fear, move on to the physical body. Walk your gaze over all the muscles: face, head, neck, back... Etc. Which parts are jammed? Try to let them go, “breathe” them.

#5: Don't get attached

Fear of loss often arises from the desire to own. A thing or a person. Let it go. Nothing in the world belongs to anyone completely. The strongest fear is of losing what we are strongly attached to. Don't get hung up on a thing/person - it's not the basis of your existence. You are wider, taller, more than that.

Why is fear of losses destructive?

Fear of loss is an energy of a lower order than, for example, love, joy, interest, admiration. Creative harmonious experiences are much stronger than destructive ones. Especially if you don’t put destructive fears on a pedestal.

We are afraid of what controls us. Accept the attitude: this fear is mine, which means I can do with it what I want: I can strengthen it, I can weaken it. I can feed him with terrible news and exciting thoughts, or I can leave him to starve.

In the end, we ourselves choose the wolf we will feed.

Fear of losing a job is an extremely common phobia in the post-Soviet space. According to various sources, from 15 to 60% of Russians in 2018 fear dismissal and job loss. No serious research has been conducted over the past two years. The latest large-scale analysis was carried out in 2016 by the RANEPA center. And the results turned out to be very disappointing - 61.1% of Russians are afraid of losing their jobs. The news often mentions that this number has decreased, but we emphasize once again that no serious official studies have been conducted. Therefore, real statistics remain in the shadows.

The fear of losing your job is understandable and justified. According to Maslow's pyramid, in the modern capitalist world, money is responsible for two basic sets of needs - physiology and security. If there is at least a minimal risk of loss of income, the person’s subconscious strives to preserve what they have in order to provide at least minimal needs.

The reason for the cultivation of fear is extremely simple - lack of stability and public rumors. In a market economy, stability is a great luxury. And not all enterprises can guarantee it for their employees.

This fear is further stimulated by the history of the post-Soviet world. After all, after the collapse of the USSR, all post-Soviet states struggled with a protracted crisis. After the 1998 financial crisis, the official unemployment rate in Russia reached 14.6%. Moreover, the real number of people who lost their jobs was much higher. Many families survived only thanks to plots of land on which they grew their own vegetables.

Among people over 30, the fear of losing their job has become chronic. People aged 46-59 years feel especially vulnerable - in 2008, according to Gimpelson's research, more than 55% of people in this age category were afraid of losing their job and 59% were afraid of not finding a new one. After receiving an alternative source of income - a pension - fears of job loss gradually decrease.

How fear of dismissal affects the work process

At first glance, it may seem that the fear of losing a job will motivate an employee to work better, thereby retaining his place even with general layoffs. But no, it's actually not like that. This is especially felt in companies that have been operating in the labor market for more than 15 years.

There is a pattern: the higher the fear of losing your job, the stronger the desire to please your boss appears. Essentially, the focus shifts from fulfilling your job responsibilities to fulfilling your boss's desires.

Fear makes you increasingly squeeze your needs just to stay at work and get paid. Even if in a competing company your work is valued one and a half to two times higher. This gives management simply unimaginable leverage over the employee. A person who is afraid of losing his job can be forced to work after hours and on weekends, to do work outside of his direct duties. You can even lower your salary based on subjective performance or mistakes. Fearing losing his job, the employee independently gives maximum power over himself to his boss. Do you need it?

Example. A very instructive story happened to one of our employees. Mikhail worked as an English teacher in Tyumen for 10 years. We won’t announce the salary, but let’s say that it was slightly below the market average. But at the same time, the director constantly asked Mikhail to translate documents from and into English. As a result, the director saved a lot of money, and Mikhail often stayed late at work.

As Mikhail himself told us, for the last three years of this period he went to work as if it were hard labor. What I once loved brought only disappointment, but I was afraid to leave. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to find a new job.

I came to EnglishDom almost by accident - he was recommended by our employee as a good teacher. We invited Mikhail for an interview, he passed it successfully and, after some deliberation, decided to change jobs. Now Mikhail has been working with us as a tutor for three years. And for a year now he has been teaching classes from San Diego, USA.

Start looking for a new job

Like any other phobia, the fear of losing a job is very difficult to explain logically. The fact is that he acts from the subconscious, directly relying on the instinct of self-preservation and survival. To remove fear or at least reduce it to an acceptable level, psychologists advise starting to look for a new job. Yes Yes exactly.

Excerpt from the lecture by psychologist Mikhail Labkovsky “How to stop worrying and start enjoying life”:

“If you are an employee, then you are kept at work for only one reason. Of the 100 rubles that you bring to your boss, you take only 5. As soon as you want 20, you will be fired...

...To leave a bad job, make an agreement with yourself, because everything is in your hands.

You will find yourself another job sooner or later, it’s a matter of time, but you must be prepared for it. But you cannot be prepared to constantly tolerate the unpleasant behavior of others. This increases your fears even more. The more you accept a situation that is killing you, the more you cultivate your anxieties.”

Of course, we are not asking you to quit right away. You just need to restore self-respect as a specialist and understand that losing a job is not the end of the world. In our world, in one or two months you can find a job in almost any field of activity if you are an experienced specialist.

Tips to help you overcome the fear of losing your job

Even without quitting your job, you can view available vacancies on websites - it won’t take much time. To fully understand the situation on the labor market in your profession, you just need to spend a few evenings at the computer.

Often, an objective assessment of the market is hampered by downplaying one’s experience and skills in professional activities.

“Who will take me like that?” - thinks an accountant who served 10 years in a low-paying job in some government office.

A well-written document in which you methodically lay out all your professional successes, skills and capabilities will help you get rid of underestimation. Even after 5 years of work in one field, any employee will be able to boast of a large pool of tasks and competencies that he can perform perfectly. And even an attempt to simply remember and list them will already raise your own value in your eyes.

Every person, without exception, has some set of skills and abilities. Most of them can be adapted to make money. Therefore, even if it happens that the entire industry in which you work collapses (which is extremely unlikely), your personal skills will still not allow you to starve.

For example, if you drive a car, you can earn extra money as a taxi driver. Not a dream job, but it will help you survive if you lose your main income. If you know how to knit well, you can sell handmade items. And there are plenty of similar options.

Understanding that you can earn money even in the event of not just losing your job, but a total collapse of the industry, will help you feel the fear of being fired much less acutely.

Example. Very often, employees are afraid of losing their jobs because they do not receive feedback from their management. They don't know whether they are doing their job well or just the opposite.

To avoid getting into a similar situation, back in 2013 we introduced a multi-level system of communication with our employees. Every week we have conversations with everyone, where we give full feedback on their work, advise on how to improve results, and celebrate successes.

This way we also monitor the mood of employees, we can promptly notice a drop in motivation and resolve the situation in a timely manner. It is thanks to this practice that turnover in the main staff of the company has decreased fourfold over five years.

Tip 3. Write down the pros and cons of your job

Trying to describe in detail all the advantages and disadvantages of your place of work will help you look at the situation from the outside. Just one table with two columns: pros and cons. And a few hours of pure time to think about the situation in detail.

The results may be very unexpected. After all, almost everything can be a disadvantage, except, in fact, the salary. The fear of losing such a job will decrease to zero and even more; you may want to quit it yourself.

Tip 4. Create a “safety cushion”

On average, searching for a new job takes up to a month, in rare cases - up to two, so such an emergency supply will allow you to find a new job without fear of going hungry. This way, you ensure financial security in the event of dismissal and remove subconscious reasons for being afraid of losing your job.

We prefer not to fight employee fears, but to prevent their occurrence. Each of our employees is confident in the stability of the company. They work not because they need to work somewhere, but because they love what they do and know that their work will be appreciated.

Even if conflicts arise, and in a human team there is no way without them, we try to resolve them in a civilized way, without threats of dismissal and other pressure. This is probably why the company has been growing rapidly and developing for many years now.

The fear of losing your job can and should be overcome

Fear of dismissal is one of those baseless phobias that can greatly ruin a person’s life. After all, it is precisely this that serves as justification when an employee holds on to a bad job with a low salary, because “anything is better than none.”

You need to fight this fear, but remember that it is precisely this fear that is an indicator of a lack of stability in life. If you are afraid that you may lose your job and lose your income, then you have already stopped developing and are experiencing an identity crisis as an employee. And active action is needed to regain stability. Up to changing this very job, no matter how funny it may sound.

But the most important thing is to understand that dismissal is not the end of life. Finding a job is much easier now than it was 30 years ago. There are hundreds and thousands of advertisements with fresh vacancies on the Internet. Develop as a professional and don’t be afraid of changes in life - they almost always lead to the better.

"I'm afraid of losing my job"

Today, more and more Russians are afraid of being left without work. Trying to survive in a crisis, companies are reducing their employees' salaries, bonuses, and laying off staff. And those who missed out on dismissal this time ask themselves the question: “Or maybe next time I will receive a notice?” Women and people of pre-retirement age are most susceptible to the fear of being left without work. In such conditions, some fall into a state of suspended animation, others begin to worry about every little thing, and still others resort to outright slander. Each of these options is a direct road to dismissal. How to confront this fear, is it possible to cope with it? Solve problems as they arise.

Fear of losing your job as your only source of income. To be left outside the gates with an empty wallet - such a prospect will lead anyone to a nervous breakdown. To relieve this fear, find yourself a part-time job. In conditions of economy, many companies now provide this type of income. Part-time work may not necessarily be in your main profession; remember your hobbies and interests. In case of dismissal, this will help you get through the period of a new duty station without unnecessary stress.

Excessive pessimism will not lead to any good. You should not intensively discuss the current situation with colleagues, expressing fear that everything will end badly. Management first of all fires those who create an atmosphere of despondency. And you can be sure that such conversations will become known to your superiors.

Expanding your professional horizons. If your job responsibilities are within a very narrow framework (for example, you are an accountant who keeps track of the movement of inventory items), it’s time to expand them. This could be advanced training courses or self-education. The more you know and can do, the better.

Don't look for subtext. When under stress, many people begin to overdramatize the situation. Every mistake at work and a sideways glance from the boss are perceived as harbingers of dismissal. Have you never made a mistake, and the boss has always been a “father” to you? Very often such fears have no basis. Although, if you constantly expect reductions, you may unknowingly provoke dismissal.

“Additional responsibilities? Certainly!". You shouldn't take on more than you can handle. Of course, you want to prove that you are irreplaceable and hope that your superiors will appreciate your zeal. However, you won't last long in this mode. Sooner or later, working at a frantic pace will lead to chronic fatigue and depression. And this will definitely affect the work being done. In this situation, it is best to focus on your activities, which will help you isolate yourself from events happening outside the office and give you a sense of the inviolability of reality.

Compromises. What should I do? Taking advantage of the fact that people are afraid of being left behind, many leaders shamelessly take advantage of this. Salary cuts, forced violations, additional responsibilities - and that's just a small part. The main thing in this situation is to maintain self-respect. Besides, if you are constantly threatened with being fired, you probably will. Employees who are truly valued will not be constantly stressed. We discuss problems with them and jointly look for ways out of the crisis. If you don't fall into this category, the smartest thing to do is start looking for a new job.

Fear of losing a job is one of the most serious phobias. It is unlikely that you will be able to cope with it alone. In this case, it is best to use the help of specialists. Although we are not yet accustomed to turning to psychotherapists in difficult life situations. Some even consider it something shameful.

For less severe cases, try a few simple techniques. Imagine that your fears came true and you received notice of dismissal. The more realistic you imagine it, the better. What you feared has happened, now think about what can be done. Losing a job is not the worst thing that can happen and life does not end there. The exit is in the same place as the entrance.

To improve your self-esteem, it is a good idea to occasionally attend interviews at other companies. This will give you confidence that if you are fired, you will be in demand. By the way, by increasing your self-esteem in this way, you may well be able to find another job with more favorable conditions.

They're fooling our brother

“You realized that there was something wrong with your work a long time ago, back in the spring, when it began to irritate you like crazy...” Many people have repeatedly received letters starting with similar words by e-mail. The most common mass mailing. So we finally got lucky. The letter described a difficult life situation: they say that you are bored to death with your job, there are no prospects, but you don’t want to leave. Next, a diagnosis was made: this is a career crisis, and a way out of this situation was proposed - professional help, individual consultations. The first consultation is free. Come and find out everything.
Of course, we couldn’t pass up such an offer.

It's no secret that every normal person has a fear of losing their job. Firstly, looking for a job is usually stressful. You will need to go to interviews again and try to please them. Secondly, it is scary to be left without any means of subsistence. Who knows when you will find a new job there? Considering all this, and remembering the saying: “the best is the enemy of the good,” many prefer to put up with everything that does not suit them and work quietly in their previous place. It is precisely these people who are targeted by a career crisis consultant.

In principle, it is not dangerous to life, you will not be drawn into a sect, and it will not harm your health. You will be offered help from a psychologist. Psychologists, of course, are smart and useful people. But keep in mind that in this situation this person is making money. After the first consultation, he will tell you that your problem is solvable, and you will need several more visits to him. There is no clear price list for services. From 500 rub. per visit and higher, depending on your ability to pay. As for the effectiveness of classes, everything is relative. The consultant will ask questions like these:

What do you think your problem is?

· name 10 reasons why you are not satisfied with your job;

How do you see the solution to this problem?

· what do you want to do;

· name 10 ways out of this situation;

· in your opinion, is it your fault in what is happening.

In other words, you will be the lead during the reception, trying to find some solution on your own. The consultant will listen, and after time has passed, he will say that you are moving in the right direction, and he is waiting for you again at the appointed time.

The only useful conclusion that can be reached after such an event is that you need to do something yourself, make some efforts to resolve the situation. And don’t sit idly by and wait for your boss to suddenly single out an unnoticed employee and decide, out of the generosity of his heart, to promote him up the career ladder. Act, and only act! But any career-minded person can come to this conclusion without outside help. So such trainings do not solve problems. The most they can do is push you to think for yourself. And nothing more. So it’s easier and cheaper to sit down at home, answer the above questions for yourself and seriously think about what you can do for your career growth.

Maria Maksimova

Psychologist's opinion. Change leads to development

Fear is one of the basic human feelings. It is natural, which means it is necessary. For development. You can learn to overcome it, and moreover, you can manage it. The main thing is to understand what and why we are afraid.

Changes frighten all people, because there is little information about the “new”, but there are many surprises and dangers. And when timid thoughts about the possibility of transformation come, our psyche begins to slow us down:

We are afraid to act;

We doubt our own abilities;

We are worried about the future.

To cope with these “weights” that prevent us from, for example, deciding to change jobs, we need to pick up a piece of paper and write down the following in detail.

Pros and cons of this solution. For example: “If I change jobs, I will have to fit into a new team (stress is a minus); but if I succeed, I will become more self-confident (plus), and I will also earn more (plus), I will do step up the career ladder (plus) and gain new professional experience (plus).” If there are more pros than cons, then you need to change jobs.

Dangers. What are you risking if you enter the labor market to look for a new job? You may end up with scammers. You can make a mistake and work for three months in a company that, according to the system of relationships and corporate standards, will not suit you. You can finally look for a job not for two weeks, but for two or three months. When the risk is understood, it is easier to prepare for it: learn to recognize unscrupulous employers, select alternative employment options, accumulate savings in reserve, or enlist the support of friends and relatives.

Action plan. List point by point what you need to do in order to get a new job as quickly as possible. Set a clear date for each event and strictly adhere to the plan, for example: “December 13 - write a competent resume. December 14 - select vacancies. December 15 - send out a mass resume.” You can even ask someone to monitor you - give this person a copy of the plan and report on every step you take. This will prevent you from relaxing and going astray.

And most importantly, take the principle as a rule: “It is better to do and regret than not to do and regret.”

This is a difficult post for me because it got quite personal. But it seems to me that it is worth publishing, because my experience may be useful to someone.

I had a problem that I lived with for several years and could not figure out. It was the fear of one day losing my job and never finding one again.

“It’s a problem for me too!”

Well, yes, it seems like far-fetched bullshit. Fear is irrational because there seems to be no reason, but there is fear.

Do you see the reason?

I couldn't solve the problem myself. I tried to think about it and tried to understand where it comes from. I tried to prove to myself that there were no special reasons, that even if this happened, life would not end. But persuasion led nowhere, and I sometimes panicked for no reason.

The same problem prevented me from working. Because of fear, I could react reactively to criticism, get tired faster and could not rest properly. It felt like my brain was trying to mine Beethovens in the background while I was doing something. In short, I got sick of it and decided to go to a psychologist.

The first session is always an introduction

I won’t say that everything became clear the first time and the problem disappeared. Of course not. The first session is an introduction: few people will just open up to a stranger.

I already had experience talking with another psychologist, so I had a rough idea of how the conversation would go. We ended up sketching out a rough work plan and questions to “think about” before the next session.

You'll have to do your homework

No matter how cool a specialist is, he will not help until you want to fix the situation yourself. You will have to break your usual patterns, catch yourself in the thoughts and feelings that you agreed on with him. Remember or write down sensations, then pronounce them. In short, we need to work.

At the first session, among others, we identified the reason that seemed to me to be the main and main reason - perfectionism. Well, you want to do everything perfectly, but you get upset when you can’t. Uh-huh, okay. And why? Well um, this is...

The first result is not the final one

Be prepared that you can’t just dig up something and think that the problem is solved. Next we have to understand where what came up came from, and then where it comes from somewhere that comes up next time.

This does not mean that the digging will not end and that you cannot rejoice at the progress. On the contrary, you should be happy, you shouldn’t think that everything will be quick and easy.

As it turned out later, perfectionism was just a consequence of the real reason. At the second session, we discovered that my fear of losing my job was rooted in childhood.

Now the working version is that as a child I “took on” the role of an adult with a lot of responsibilities. But the fear at that time was justified: no qualifications, no experience. Due to their absence, there was a fear of not meeting expectations, losing a job, and, as a result, a desire to do everything perfectly the first time.

Solution

A possible solution to the problem consists of 4 parts.

Realize that there is less responsibility than it seems. Not everything in the world depends on my actions; there are a lot of external factors that I cannot control.
Collect feedback from people whose opinions I value. Using this feedback, determine the actual skill level and work with it: raise the level to an acceptable level if it does not seem so.
Dealing with other people's expectations, so as not to worry about being misunderstood.
Appreciate yourself more. Do not force yourself into the framework of “must”, “must”, “should”. Pay more attention to things like “I want” and “it would be nice.”

The first point does not mean that you should not care about work. This would contradict point 2 - after all, my opinion as a specialist about myself is also valuable to me. The last point relates less to work and more to lifestyle in general.