If you’ve been freaking out about retrenchment thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and how it is affecting this year’s economic outlook, well, things aren’t going to get better anytime soon.
Even before the coronavirus hit, we’ve all heard stories of middle aged PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) who’ve been cast away by their companies and then took on odd jobs to make ends meet. You might be wondering, there’s no way that these people don’t have any skills. What have they been doing for the past 20 to 30 years?
The problem with our work culture is that the higher these people climbed on the career ladder, the more their tasks revolved around managing people, and less on doing hands-on work. Their management skills were being honed, but their technical skills were getting eroded.
With job losses in Singapore in 2020 projected to range from 45,000 to 200,000 by various analysts in spite of the various support measures introduced by the government, the issue of retrenchments come sharply into focus.
So before anything bad can happen (choi ah), it’s a good idea to protect yourself should the worst occur.
Continually upgrade yourself
To know which direction you should be looking at to upgrade yourself, it can be helpful to look at the skillsets of your younger employees. They benefit from being in tune with the latest developments in the market. For instance, the job scope of marketing executives today often requires a strong understanding of social media and digital marketing.
You should also be reading consistently. Read as much as you can! The NLB App by the National Library Board allows its readers to read books for free.
If you're in the marketing industry, there are also free courses offered by Google online, which is a good place to start. Apart from Google, Skillshare and Masterclass are also great platforms for self-paced online courses to upgrade yourself.
And last but not least, make full use of your Skillsfuture credits!
Keep your networks fresh
While there are a plethora of job portals out there, sometimes nothing beats a simple word-of-mouth referral. Expanding your social circle will be useful as you never know where your next job lead might come from! Even if your position is safe, it doesn't hurt to get to know more people outside your industry.
These days, networking activities are unlike in the past where they are a formal and boring event. Take Lean In Circle as an example – members can join a Circle, or volunteer at Lean In events and can get to know one another in a relaxed environment.
Diversify your income streams
Unfortunately, in our day and age there is no longer an "iron rice bowl". If your job is your only form of income, you'll be left in a tough spot if it gets cut off. Having other streams of income provides a lot more security in the face of retrenchment.
Some ways of obtaining a passive income stream is to take on a side job like giving tuition, running a small business, doing translations, freelance consulting or other work outside of your usual job. For more ideas on how to diversify your income streams and earn spare cash from home, check out our article here!
Live below your means
Many PMETs have a hard time dealing with retrenchment partly because many of them have hefty financial obligations such as car loans, house mortgages, kids’ education costs and so on. Take an honest look at your finances – is your lifestyle inflated to the point that a few months of unemployment will have you running into a wall?
This 48-year-old former senior banker who used to earn $14,000 a month was desperate enough to work as a dishwasher after being retrenched. With an income that's over 3 times the average salary, he could have built up a healthy amount of savings during his banking career.
A good salary can be taken from you anytime, so plan your finances accordingly. Live well below your means, save and invest wisely, so that if you’re retrenched you won't be in as much of a panic to do any odd job just to keep your head above the waters.
Have an emergency fund
It spells trouble if you get retrenched without adequate savings. Your emergency fund should have 3 to 6 months’ of your monthly expenses, but if you’re at high risk of being retrenched and are a middle aged PMET who might find it hard to quickly find another job, it’s a good idea to bump up that scale.
According to this article, the rate of re-entering the workforce after six months of retrenchment was at 57.8% in the second quarter of 2019. This means that even with 6 months’ worth of monthly expenses savings, there’s about a 42% chance that you’ll run out of money before you are employed again.
So make sure that you have enough to tide you through some rainy days and more. Unless you wish to shower with rainwater.