Friday, September 28, 2012

How to Thrive After a Demotion



When the boss tells you that you’re being reassigned or reclassified, you still know that no matter the fancy title, it still looks, smells, and feels like a demotion.
Few things in your professional life – aside from being fired or laid off – are more debilitating emotionally than being demoted.
But after years of downsizings and cutbacks, that’s exactly what many employees have faced. Some have tried to put a positive spin on it. After all, they still have a job don’t they? But that doesn’t take the sting out of the fact that they’ve gone down the ladder and now perhaps have even further to go to attain their goals.
While your first reaction to a demotion may be to quit and decide to launch that dryer lint-cleaning business you’ve always dreamed about, that isn’t the best move. For one, quitting means the paychecks stop, and that’s pretty devastating for anyone who has car payments, school loans, a mortgage and kids to support. And two, quitting doesn’t accomplish anything other than putting you in the unemployment line with thousands of others and possibly facing the same consequences in the future.
How do you keep your cool and get past such a difficult period? Some steps you need to take after a demotion include:
  1. Dealing with the emotions. You need a chance to rant and rave or have a good cry after a demotion, but find somewhere private to do it. Don’t try to brush your feelings aside or they may pop up when you least want them to – like having a sobbing fit in your cubicle with co-workers watching.
  2. Understanding the reasons. Once you’ve got your emotions under control, sit down with (read the rest here)

1 comment:

MicroSourcing said...

Demotions are always difficult to take, especially when you've spent a good portion of your life working for the employer's benefit. Thinking long-term is definitely good advice - it helps to part with the company on good terms because you'll need a good character reference.