Two redundancies within three years. Has a nice ring to it, eh? Not as bad as some people have got it, though, as I saw a lady on LinkedIn say she’d had two redundancies in one year.
Not that I’m looking for sympathy here, I’ve had plenty of this bombardment of shit from capitalism since 2008 and overcome all of it. According to right-wingers, though, if you apply yourself and work hard yee shall succeed (and that’s why over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck—150 million people are just a tad lazy).
It’s very common in 2026, this lay off stuff, what with the vile and idiotic war a certain POTUS has triggered off. The has widespread ramifications for global professionals, with businesses clamping down and saving money. Add AI into the mix and it’s led to the worst job market since the post-recession employment crisis of 2008.
Thus, I’m having a look at what it all means and throwing in a few mental health and professional tips should you find yourself stuck in this crisis.
Notes on Many Redundancies
Look at me. There I am, stuck in Unemployment Simulator 2018. For any older readers who haven’t had to look for work in recent decades, it’s fair to say the modern system is a shitshow of demoralising chaos, depression, stress, and ghosting.
I’ve seen online how many Conservatives’ approach this, caustically sneering down at (especially younger) job hunters and providing “advice” that belongs in 1983. They seem to think unemployed people are workshy freeloaders living off benefits.
Well, in the UK you can only stay on benefits for six months. Plus, there’s an appalling housing crisis as a legacy of Thatcher’s Right to Buy policies, alongside a cost of living crisis, and job market crisis, after 14 years of Conservative austerity, and the Brexit measures that have also pulverised the UK’s economy. The problem is, of course, woke snowflake progressives and communism.
The problem isn’t losing the job. It’s getting a replacement.
Obviously, if you lose your job the goal is to get a new one. Simple, right? Apply to myriad new roles, take an interview the next day, stroll into new workplace, commence exhilarating new phase of your career, be rewarded with bonuses and promotions for thine hard work.
Yeah, that’s not how capitalism works. Anyone still clinging to the idea it’s 1994 has departed reality some time ago, in most instances I expect to get back into work to take (unless you get lucky) 6-12 months of relentless applications. And, of course, many recruitment processes go like this:
- First stage interview
- Second stage interview
- Complete some huge task that dominates several days, even though it’s obvious from your work history you can do what you’re claiming you can do
- Third stage interview
- Promise that they’ll make a decision shortly
- Silence for three weeks
- An announcement the job spec has changed and you need to do another interview
- Another interview
- Ghosted… never hear from the company ever again!
Repeat that 50+ times and you do start to get a little jaded with this whole capitalism thing. Just possibly, it doesn’t seem quite what it’s cracked up to be. Almost like it needs tearing down and starting all over again with a system that works.
Before my most recent redundancy (the third of my 15 year career), I’d followed the mass lay off news across the UK and US over the last 12 months. On LinkedIn, you can see many professionals commenting they’ve been unemployed for over 12 months and have applied to 100, 200, 300, 500, 1,000+ jobs and still have no work.
Recent graduates have it tough. One guy was angrily rounding on social media he has a chemical engineering degree and can’t even get a job at Walmart.
The reality is, he has no real work experience so his degree means fuck all. But even people with lots of experience are struggling as businesses clamp down due to the economic issues created by Trump and the meandering joys of “market efficiency”.
The job market will get better. It’ll take time. Meanwhile, the laid off lot need to batten down the hatches and look after ourselves. Luckily, there’s a fair old whack of advice out there to help.
Dealing With the Job Market: How to Keep Yourself Sane
This lady on YouTube, According to Nicole, we’ve come to respect massively of late. Her content over the last year has started to rip apart the failures of cronyism capitalism and how this system is failing the public and modern professionals.
She also provides minimalist living tactics, small business support, and financial advice. It’s been very handy hearing it all and it doesn’t hurt she’s bloody stunning as well (*ahem*).
That’s the sort of thing people need to lean into to keep your spirits up.
That and culture, creativity, and all that jazz. I’ve run this blog since February 2012, it started as a means to show off my creative skills, but has since morphed into a means to keep me sane as the world goes to Hell and back. Creativity is vital as it’s your project, you have full control of it, and you can do what you want with it all. Most cathartic, sir.
But one thing that’s also vital is budgeting. Budget mightily. That means cutting out trips abroad, meals out, multiple cars, or whatever it is you’re splashing out on. For me, it was food, I’d been enjoying all sorts of fancy artisan breads and the like. You just need to adapt and I’ve done that by switching to:
- Lots of tinned veg
- Pitta bread (super cheap, in much abundance)
- Tinned sardines
- Hitting the reduced to clear section at supermarkets
- Freezing the crap out of stuff I can freeze for long-term meal planning
- Porridge!
Simple but effective, letting you live off below £50 a month on food.
It sickens me so many working people can’t even afford to live off even that, after budgeting. Society has failed disastrously when people on minimum wage work can’t afford to have a nice life, or have to live in a van, or off foodbanks despite being in work. It’s a disgusting indictment of capitalism there’s no real support for these people.
Hopefully things will pick up over the years to come. VOTING matters, so get out there and vote for the right candidates. Read their actual manifesto and decide if it suits everyone or not, or is clearly just there to line the pockets of the superrich.
But above all us, remember this isn’t your fault. The system has failed us and your unemployment is a reflection of that. There is no shame, only glory in your pursuit of what makes you, you.
