Can we have a career that can withstand shock in the era of layoffs?

Have you ever experienced a completely unexpected positive or negative event that made you ask questions? Career Have you given your career path a completely new direction?

Prominent researchers such as Jos Akkermans (Vrije University, The Netherlands) and Scott Seibert (University of Oregon, USA) refer to events such as career shocks and define them as unexpected events from controls that can lead to career-related deliberations and have a significant impact on career trajectory. These events can be negative, such as:

• Departure of critical people (e.g. mentor, manager, or colleagues) from the organization
• Organizational downsizing
• Mass Ray Off
• bankruptcy
• Ethical Crisis

Or, a positive like:

• Achieve unexpected success at specific jobs and tasks
• Early promotion
• Get unexpected wages
• You can increase your responsibility faster than expected

Let’s dig deep into four facts about career shocks and explore whether it is possible to build a shock-resistant career.

1. A career shock event may be

Given today’s disrupted global environment, characterized by economic instability, political and systematic crises and extensive layoffs, you are more likely to experience at least one career shock in your life. It’s natural to worry about negative events, but positive shocks are common, but whether they’re good or bad for your career, their outcomes can be difficult to predict.

2. Your carrier shock may hurt

One of the key issues with career shocks is that positive events can lead to negative outcomes and vice versa. Whether shock is initially classified as positive or negative, it can affect mental and physical health, personal life, job satisfaction, and involvement, potentially leading to absenteeism and turnover.

for example:

• Early promotions may seem like great news, but they can cause emotions Fraud syndrome.
• Layoffs can raise serious concerns about career stability and financial well-being.

You can also feel the negative effects of other people’s career shock. For example, employees who remain after a layoff may suffer from those of survivors Guilt (e.g., Basu et al., 2024).

3. But they can also teach and improve

Whether negative or positive, career shocks can have a transformative impact. They can inspire you to think creatively, embrace change and discover new opportunities. For example, your organization’s ethical crisis may seem destructive at first, but it can lead to a reflection on your work and your integrity with the organization. This reflection can lead to a transition to a more fulfilling career path.

4. Carrier shocks can increase resilience

You can’t prevent career shocks, but they often go beyond your control – it can affect how you react and build Resilience.

actively:

• Adopt a portfolio career approach: As career diversification across a variety of areas, the shocks in one domain can be offset by the strengths and opportunities of other domains (see Wallace, 2023).
• Embracing a Growth thinking: Lifelong learning helps to relate skills and improves adaptability through changes. Transferable skills help with potential transitions before and after shock.
• Understand your multiple identities: If your career identity controls you Self-conceptyou may be more vulnerable to career shocks. Balance your role and identity (for example as a friend, partner, parent, or volunteer) and build emotional resilience.
• Cultivate flexible thinking: Your expectations shape the outcome of your experience in several ways (Robson, 2022). Being open and adaptable will help minimize harm from negative shocks and maximize the benefits of all shocks.

Reactively:

• Keep it Optimism: While it may be difficult to stay positive, especially after a negative shock, resilience, effort, and patience are important to transform the regression into opportunities for growth.
• Focus on what you can control: It may not affect your organization’s decisions, but it allows you to manage your responses and behaviors.
• Have realistic expectations: Recognize that many factors that affect your career are shaped by the broader cultural, political, or national context. Accepting this will help you have a more grounded and realistic career plan.

Conclusion

Addressing uncertainty is never easy, but deliberate efforts can help you to prepare for career shocks and strengthen your ability to face challenges in the workplace.