On Monday, I had a strong interview for a position that I
really want and deserve. At the
conclusion of the interview, I was advised that I would receive notification on
Wednesday. Well, today is Wednesday and
from my first conscious moment, the familiar and routine anxiety has set in as
I wait impatiently by the phone and continuously check my email messages. Again, I am prayerful. Again, I tell myself “no news is good news.” This particular position with this particular
organization would exponentially change my life.
For the past 10 years, I’ve been either unemployed or
underemployed. It’s been 10 years since
I’ve been fairly compensated for my level of skill and experience. While unemployed, the stress of pursuing work
has been unimaginable, the stress of being underemployed in the workplace has
been unbearable. I have concluded that
the qualities that have resulted in numerous successes for my employer are the
very same qualities that have resulted in my inevitable unemployment.
The culture in the workplace has changed drastically in
recent years. The new work leadership
not only supports and defends the status quo, the new work culture punishes
individuals that want to contribute to a thriving enterprise. So much is reported in the news related to
workers being laid off, but not much is reported about people getting terminated,
time after time. I know many, many qualified
and capable people in the same situation and have even recently been advised by
an attorney friend that wrongful termination cases have increased
substantially. This is a new, peculiar,
under-reported phenomenon in the workplace.
Now that I’m unemployed, I indulge in a pastime that I am
unable to enjoy while employed. Most of
my job searching is online or via telephone, so I remain in my home on most
days. Further, I find that any time I
leave my home, it becomes necessary to spend money. So, I stay home most days to save the little money
that I still have primarily to prepare for any upcoming interviews. In addition to having time to reflect on the
reasons I’ve separated from past employment, I have more time for TV
viewing. I don’t care for soap operas,
so I watch the “liberal” media because it makes sense to me. Occasionally, I switch to the conservative
channel, and I find their language extremely distressful, biased, and confusing.
I’m not an economist.
I am not an academic. But, I’m
many things to many people. And, I’ve
determined that I am the average American.
I am bi-racial. I am a woman. I am a single mother. And, I am unemployed.
