Restoring well-being during unemployment

BUSINESS. I'M FRED KOCHER. IF YOU'VE EVER LOST YOUR JOB, YOU KNOW WHAT A DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE IT CAN BE FOR YOUR LIVING INCOME AND YOUR HEALTH, ESPECIALLY IF IT HAPPENS IN THE GROCERY SECTOR. THERE'S A NEW BOOK IN PRINT THAT DEALS WITH THIS, WRITTEN BY A RESPECTED NEW HAMPSHIRE NON-PROFIT LEADER WHO GETS INTO THE JOBS WITH 15 NEW HAMPSHIRE STAFF AND INDUSTRIAL WORKERS WHO UNEXPECTEDLY LOST THEIR JOBS AND WHAT IT TOOK FOR THEM TO GET BACK ON TRACK WITH A NEW JOB IN THEIR 50S. HERE IS ONE OF THEM, ANNA WAS LAID OFF, HER LAST LAID OFF WAS CANCELABLE. I WAS WORKING, AS SHE SAID, AS AN ESTIMATOR FOR AN ALUMINUM FRAMING COMPANY UNTIL THE DAY I GOT A CALL OUT OF THE BLUE LIGHT. MY POSITION WAS ELIMINATED AND I WAS THE HARVESTOR FOR MY FAMILY. WITH ME TO TELL US ABOUT HER NEW BOOK THAT JUST LANDED ON AMAZON IS AUTHOR KELLY CLARK, AN EXPERIENCED LEADER IN A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION FOR 37 YEARS. CURRENTLY ON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKFORCE INNOVATION BOARD AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL. WELCOME. NICE TO HAVE YOU ON THERE, KELLY. NICE TO BE HERE, FRED. UHMWHERE, YOU ROUTED THE STATE FOR SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND INTERVIEWED 15 PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEIR JOBS, 47 TO 58 YEARS OLD, RIGHT. AND THE PANDEMIC, OF COURSE, MADE EVERYTHING WORSE. UHMWHERE, TELL US WHO YOU MET AND WHAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED WITH THAT MID-LIFE JOB LOSS. SURE. SO, ANNA, THE ONE YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE I MET. THESE PEOPLE WERE LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED. They were facing some pretty drastic circumstances and they had figured it out. I was really interested in what they were doing to maintain their well-being because what I've noticed throughout my career working with unemployed people is that a subset of them were able to maintain their well-being. So I was really curious about what they were doing. Were there any common characteristics like illness or ageism or job imbalance or what? For most of these individuals, it was just that they were laid off. THEY LOST THEIR JOB AND FOUND A WAY OUT WHICH WAS FIGURED OUT BY FOCUSING ON FIVE KEY CHARACTERISTICS. THERE WAS A COMMON DENOMINATOR THAT REALLY HELPED THEM OVERCOME SOME REALLY TOUGH CHALLENGES. LET'S DIG INTO THOSE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND PUT THIS GRAPHIC INTO THE SHOW. HERE IS A GRAPHIC FROM YOUR BOOK. IT LISTENS THE PRACTICAL ACTIONS THAT ANYONE, ANYONE OBVIOUSLY AFFECTED BY UNEMPLOYMENT, CAN USE TO GET BACK TO WORK. MAINTAIN A STRUCTURED SCHEDULE, ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES, CONSERVE RESOURCES, USE SOCIAL SUPPORT AND BUILD MENTAL STRENGTH. WHICH OF THESE DID YOU FIND? THE 15 PEOPLE YOU INTERVIEWED? HAVE ANY OF THEM USED ANY OF THESE? YES, THAT WAS A COMMON ELEMENT WITH ALL THE PEOPLE I TALKED TO: THEY DID ACT IN ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES. SO ALL FIVE OF THEM, AND IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT WITH WALTER, HE KEEPED A STRUCTURED SCHEDULE. HE SAID TO ME, I'M GETTING UP AT 5:30 TOMORROW BECAUSE I HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORK. He may have engaged in meaningful activities, including job hunting and, you know, training, job hunting, continuing education. In addition, all five of them took a break. They stepped away from job hunting and found something that made sense to them, because as you know, there's a lot of rejection in job hunting. That's tough. And so Anna pursued her art voluntarily. Walter continued to sing Irish songs every week. HE JOINED A GROUP AND THAT REALLY HELPED THEM GET THROUGH VERY, VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU KNOW, A STRUCTURED SCHEDULE IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. I HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT'S THE KEY. IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD THINK OF IT AS A FRAMEWORK. YOUR SCHEDULE. AND SO ALL OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WERE VERY FOCUSED ON MAINTAINING THAT SCHEDULE LIKE THEY WERE BACK TO WORK. AND OF COURSE, JOB SEARCH BECAME THE NUMBER ONE JOB FOR THEM. BUT ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THEY HAD A SHUTDOWN ROUTINE AT THE END OF THE DAY. SO THEY PUT THEM AWAY. AND WHETHER THAT MEANS WALKING THE DOG, DOING SOME VOLUNTEER WORK, UM, REALLY HELPING THEM. DID ANY OF THEM GET A JOB AFTER THAT? THEY DID. AND AT THE END OF THE BOOK WE FEATURE FIVE PEOPLE THAT I TALKED TO TWO YEARS AFTER MY FIRST MEETING, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GET BACK INTO WORK, PUT THE BOOK BACK ON SCREEN, HOW TO GET THEIR WELL-BEING BACK ON THE GROUNDS. WHEN UNEMPLOYMENT STRIKES IN THE FOOD SECTOR. AUTHOR KELLY CLARK, A NON-PROFIT LEADER IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THE NORTHEAST FOR 37 YEARS. THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW ABOUT THE BOOK, KELLY. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. AND I KNOW YOU ARE TALKING TO GROUPS ABOUT IT. YES. AND I AM MORE WILLING TO PROVIDE A FEW FREE COPIES OF THE BOOK TO EVERYONE WHO WORKS WITH THE JOB CLUB AND WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. IF YOU MISS KELLY'S COMMENTS, YOU CAN GO TO WMUR.COM

NH Business: “How to regain your wellbeing when you become unemployed in midlife”

Updated: August 18, 2024, 7:12 a.m. EDT

Fred Kocher, NH Business host

Kelly Clark, PhD, nonprofit executive at the NH Workforce Innovation Board, discusses her new book, “Getting Back to Work: How to Regain Control of Your Well-Being When You Become Unemployed in Midlife,” with Fred Kocher.

Kelly Clark, PhD, nonprofit executive at the NH Workforce Innovation Board, discusses her new book, “Getting Back to Work: How to Regain Control of Your Well-Being When You Become Unemployed in Midlife,” with Fred Kocher.