During my working career (45 years), I have never been fired from a job, because of poor attendance; attitude problems or anything else, etc. With all these job losses I have had, there has been so much stress and depression connected with them...but I didn't know that much about depression, until I went out on the Internet to do some research. What I found was shocking! Just about everywhere I went, there were two words almost together all the time...the word "depression" and the word "suicide." I didn't think depression could be so serious!
From: Depression Resources Center.org:
Research over the past two decades, has shown that depression and heart disease are common companions...and what is worse...is that one can lead to the other. It appears now, that depression is an important risk factor for heart disease, along with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
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When I suffered my first job loss, in the early 1990's, I was working for a large, world-wide, engineering company, with more than 35,000 employees. At that time, when the layoffs started to come down...they were different. Different in the sense...that the layoffs would start from the top of the company and work down, etc. In other words, department heads; mid and senior managers were first to go, and that was unusual for the time, etc.
All in all...when I got laid off, there about 14 of us, and between all of us, we had over 200 years with the company; the head of our computer department had 29 years with the company; the head of our drafting section had 25 years; the coordinator with the military had 23 years, and so forth...18 years...14 years...and I had 10 years with the company.
Later...this procedure of laying people off starting at the top of the company, became a trend across the country, and many companies started to do the same thing...that is...start at the top with the people who made the most money, etc. This type of action by companies was essentially saying, "There's no more job security in this country!" And, as the years went by, there were more and more companies not providing benefits for employees, and cutting them altogether.
In 2009, the engineering company I worked for, doesn't exist anymore, despite its size. In today's world, the big fish eats the little fish, and that's how companies disappear.
My second job loss is an interesting story, where I worked for over three years, and closed because it moved to another state. Me and my supervisor, were two of the last people to leave the company before it closed. What's amazing about this story...is that about three years later...I went to work (as a temp) at this company where my former supervisor worked, and guess what happened? This company closed, too! And now, for the second time, me and my former supervisor were together again (at another company) that was closing, and we were two of the last people to leave the company! Amazing!
I explain a few of these layoffs, so the reader can see the different ways a job loss can occur. In another job loss, I was working for a small company, who was a contractor for Martin-Marietta, a large engineering company. They were doing work for the Postal Service, by modifying mail- sorting machines. When the contract was given to another company...Martin-Marietta closed...and my job went with it!
With all the stress and depression in my life during this long period of time...rebuilding after a job loss...getting laid off again...and then rebuilding again...getting laid off and rebuilding...it finally took its toll! I found myself in the hospital for over three months with heart-failure and a pace-maker inplanted! During that time, I applied for and got a disability pension from the VA and from Social Security. But, since the age of 50, I found it harder and harder to get a job, and I felt that age discrimination played a part in my downfall as well, etc.
I wouldn't want to see anyone go through what I've had to go through for over a decade, etc. And, in 2008 and 2009...with all the bad news in the economy...the job losses; the financial melt-down; the greed and high cost of living...I'm just grateful and thankful that I'm out of the work place!
On the postive side of things...I, now, think that what happened to me has been a "silver lining," but I wouldn't want to go through it all again!
SITE MAP For Hopelessly Lost Souls;
Copyright; 2010; Jerry Aragon/The Humor Doctor
Website name; humordoctormd
http://humordoctormd.homestead.com
