A summary of the year 2020: IT IS SO FULL OF SHIT.
2020 is a year people have lost a lot.
Many people have lost friends or family members to COVID-19. Others have lost their jobs. At some point the majority of us will have lost our freedom thanks to lockdown.
In short their is nothing special, or unusual about my story. At the beginning of the year I was told my position would be turned into a 18month fixed term contract, an opportunity i was much excited about. It offered exciting science, a travel opportunity or two, and a much needed period of stability. Hell, getting a dog and looking at buying my own house. By the end of June, i was jobless, had to move in with friends (that don't realy want me in their house, they were just being nice), no help from Universal Credit and a poorly puppy. COVID-19 took away the rug from underneath my feet.
It has been a soul destroying experience. Five days notice of having no job was bad, but their was no 'sorry, it is out of my hands', no 'thanks for everything you have done, this isn't the outcome i hoped for'. It wasn't acknowledged. I was left feeling as though all my hard work wasn't appreciated at all, that i wasn't valued. And to boot, i have barely heard from any of my former work colleagues who called themselves my friends.
But the worst bit, it isn't losing my job, or crappy rental. It is losing my voice. Literally and Figuratively. Literally, because COVID isn't done yet, i have no money to go anywhere and even if i did, life is far from normal - where would i go, whom would i talk to? I spend most days home alone, talking to no-one, and when my friends get home from work they don't want to talk to me, they want a drink and bed. Or to chill in peace, I can literally spend a whole day, and say less than one hundred words. So why figuratively? because when you are unemployed, not only do the 'friends' ignore you, you innately become an unvalued member of society. No-one wants to listen to your opinion because 'you don't work'. You are valued less because people see you as 'a waster' or lazy. To have value you must have a job, you must earn your place.
So bosses, employers, please if you have to let people go, do it kindly, take the time to tell the person they were valued and appreciated, highlight what skills you think they were good at - it might help them write a CV or answer an interview question.
Friends, take the time to check in a bit more with those you do not see often. Send a letter, text, GIF. Anything to remind them they are not alone.
