Losing more than just your job with a lay-off.

Most of the effects of being out of work are expected. You know that you are not going to be able to do most of the things you did before. That means less dinners out, less spending on luxury goods and recreational goods. You probably won’t be able to take a vacation of any kind since you are out of work. There are a number of things that you know are going to change about your life when you experience a lay-off.

The one aspect of you new life that you probably would not have predicted is the fact that you might lose some of your friends. The old saying that you know who your friends are when you experience a tragedy is true in this case too. A short period of being out of work, probably will not affect your friendships too much, but a long period will change the landscape of your friendships.

Some of your friends and family will come together and help you out. They will understand that you cannot participate in some of the things you did prior to your job loss. They will be there for birthdays and parties that you host or attend. During a time like we are in now, Christmas, they will know that you cannot afford to give them presents, even when you have done so for years and years.

Some of your friends however will fall off the face of the earth. They won’t know how to act around you, they won’t know what to talk to you about and they won’t want to be placed into an awkward position. There is a serious level of discomfort for people who are working to be hanging out with people who are not working.

It seems illogical that losing your job might result in your losing some friends. But it is the truth. It has happened to me during my period of layoff and I have spoken to many people who say the same thing. There is an unspoken tension in the room and no one wants to discuss it. It places an invisible wall between you.

People who have never experienced a period of being out of work for any length of time will argue in their heads that this wouldn’t happen to them. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. There is definitely a real psychological effect that happens between friends, when one is laid off. Some go more towards you and a closer relationship, others go the opposite direction.

My advice for everyone on this situation is to just deal with it as it happens. One way that might stave off this type of situation by talking about being out of work. If you are unwilling to talk about it, then obviously there is something that you are holding back. If you are speaking about it, which is part of a good job search strategy anyway, then the air is cleared a little more. Meaning you might be able to limit the damage to your friendships that was done during your lay-off.

Friends are meant to be forever, so try not to let any go by the wayside, no matter the reason.

Auto Bail Out and Unemployment

A quick thought on the auto company bail-out. While it does not directly relate to unemployment, the result of the bail-out will affect the number of people applying for unemployment. The companies that do not get a bail-out may be forced to lay-off hundreds, if not thousands of workers. This will in turn hurt many people in those geographical areas affected by even more lay-offs.

The fact is however that these three companies are in seriously different situations and should not be treated as equal. Ford is clearly in the most stable position of the three. They are looking for a back-up loan in case the economy gets worse. They are confident that they can survive without government money as long as the economy does not keep its downward spiral going. Plus, if you look at the ratings for cars in magazines such as Consumer Reports, you will see that Ford’s vehicle ratings are way up from years ago. You will not find any new vehicles, other than the Ranger which is a long time hold-over from years past, rated as bad. In fact there are many vehicles that are recommended buys by Consumer Reports. This makes Ford the company that should get the loan guarantees a certainty.

GM on the other hand has too many brands that are just failing. They need to get rid of the dead weight. I do realize the fact that the federal and state governments have seriously hampered the ability of a car manufacturer to just eliminate a brand. It takes years at a significant cost due to dealer buy-backs and payments that must be made. Still, they need to get rid of the crap and they can survive. They are also the largest of the three and employ the most people and that should be considered in an economy that is in need of jobs right now. But, many of their cars are still being rated as unreliable or just plain bad. They need to clean house now and get straight.

Chrysler is the exact opposite of the other two. It has the least number of employees and unfortunately for them should be allowed to fail. The truth of the matter is that Chrysler was purchased by a Hedge Fund. The sole purpose of a hedge fund is to invest in unregulated, highly speculative markets, companies and industries with the potential of huge returns. The hedge fund people don’t want to play by the government rules and should be allowed to do so, but they also need to accept the fact that when they fail, they fail. Huge losses are always the downside of seeking huge returns. They did not invest to make an American company great again. They invested to build it up and sell it off and make a huge profit, which I am not against. But, they invested in a risky venture and should be told no for a bail-out.

Sorry to all of the potentially new unemployed out there, but we cannot just hand out money to every company. Let Chrysler fail. Make GM contract with a bail-out. Give Ford the loan guarantees with strings attached.