I do keep getting requests from friends I know who have lost their jobs to help connect them with someone I know. These are difficult times , many people have lost their jobs , many have received pay cuts in their salaries . Yet EMIs need to be paid , children’s school fees need to be taken care of there are essential home expenses and bills that have to be paid. There is a uncertainty of the future as economic impacts of the pandemic are being felt across industries . A new world is emerging , in this world you are in business within and outside a Job.

9 to 5

My father joined the MCGM and he retired from MCGM , one job for a lifetime . There was a concept called job security and you worked on a given time schedule 9 to 5 with 20 minutes of lunch break. There are some places like this even now mostly in the government services , not much has changed.

The myth of job security was busted in the capitalist world gradually the western concept of hire and fire found its way to Indian organisations, there is no 9 to 5 any longer .

Living for the Paycheque

There was another popular term ‘TGF’ , Thank God it is Friday . What this stands for is , get through the week to live life on the weekends. Most employee satisfaction studies year after year show that over 80% of employees are not satisfied with their jobs and yet the continue because bills have to be paid.

HR teams continue with engagement activities to build bonding with the organisations and improve job satisfaction scores. If this would have helped the scores would have improved , what we know is they have not. This has got nothing to do with HR.

Survivors don’t Survive

The new world that has unfolded long before the pandemic , in this world if you play for survival , you will not survive . Those that play safe , fit in the boxes , do what is told are commodities and commodities can be replaced with something or someone that is cheaper somewhere . If your job can be described you will be fired the day something or someone cheaper can take up the job.

Like when WFH becomes the norm it would become ok to hire people from tier two and tier three towns at much cheaper rates , because now location does not matter. This will hit sooner than later , so be prepared.

Don’t wait till to get Fired

Seriously those that have not yet been fired don’t wait till you get fired . Get into business , your business now . And by this I don’t mean quit your job , I mean build the attitude of an entrepreneur . You are on Your Own ! get this no one will save you .

Do what you Love

Each one of us is born with a gift , this gift makes us unique . Find your Gift and share it with the world . Don’t play safe , rock the boat , do stuff that excites you every day . Don’t chase paycheque , chase your dreams . And you turn around and tell me “there are bills to pay” , you keep surviving and yet will get fired anyway anytime . What you do is miss life . If you are a dancer , go and teach people to dance , if you are a singer go out and sing your song , if you love to write code, make poetry of code writing ( I learnt this from a brilliant code writer and they have a group for beautiful code !) . Don’t do mediocre stuff , that you don’t love .

Become the Best

Best not by comparison with others but by your own standards , keep learning , get better and better and better at doing what you love to do . How many hours of practice do you think a Virat Kohli puts in to get good at his game ? Can you set aside a few hours daily to learn something new ? I do that by following the best in the field on YouTube , reading from Blink , subscribing to The Ken .

Re-Invent

A tree that bends in a storm survives the one that stands against the storm falls . The new world emerging is online , re-invent yourself . If you hold the position “this is the way I have done things” and stick to it you will fall , if you are a journalist who has lost his job re-invent yourself as a content writer or a story writer for the digital world . Remember whether you are in a job or outside you are in Business. lot of education is now possible thanks to free channels like YouTube ,Linkedin Learning , Udemy .

If you have lost your job take the next six months to connect with your calling and re-invent yourself , learn , educate , get better , work for free , volunteer, network , build your tribe be ready for the new world . This break could be the best thing that has happened in your life .

Tribe

The good old adage of sales build your Network , in the new world I would redefine this as build your Tribe . Either lead a tribe or become a part of a tribe . Either create a movement or become a part of a movement . Give your best to your Tribe , build your credibility make it the meaning of being alive. Tribes create belonging , they hold ideas connect people.

You are on YOUR OWN

Get this in your head the future of jobs maybe your own business, contracts , freelancing or even when you are in a job , you would yet be in business . All the rules of business apply , take risks , stand out , rock the boat , make a difference , build your authentic Brand . Remember if you are commodity you will get replaced /fired some day ! if you are not adding value and are replaceable with something cheaper , you would be replaced some time sooner than later. IF YOUR JOB CAN BE DEFINED YOU WILL BE REPLACED WITH SOMETHING OR SOMEONE CHEAPER ! DON’T GET DEFINED , GO BEYOND THE BOX !

These are tough times but remember ‘This too shall Pass’ and this will pass . The worst of times do pass at the end of a dark tunnel there would be light , yet before the light is seen you would pass through the darkest part of the tunnel but finally there would be light. Let this pandemic be an opportunity to re-invent yourself , to come out stronger , to be ready for the new world, to live life on your own terms , not survive but THRIVE !

If you want to I am available to help and guide you.

Sanjay Mudnaney