Supporting DH through redundancy

[Squigget]

DH is currently in the last stages of working his notice before being made redundant in August As he has less than 2 years service he receives no redundancy payout. He has been working at a senior level in a specialist role in an industry which almost universally has recruitment freezes in place. There is absolutely nothing at his current level or a step down or two to apply for at the moment. He had one potential opportunity he interviewed for but was not selected for as he was over qualified for what they were after and they thought he would not be happy in the role. Given the bleak outlook, how can I help support him over the next few months? Fortunately my job is reasonably secure for now and my income combined with using our savings will mean we will be ok financially for a while which takes some pressure off but I worry greatly about his mental and emotional well-being. He's early 50's and has never been unemployed before. Thanks

I’m in your husbands shoes at the moment.

My DH is supporting me by being completely calm and rationale about the whole thing. He tells me he isn’t worried, our finances are fine (sounds like we are in a similar position to you), and is patient with me when I want to talk things through for the 1,000th time, or cry. He hasn’t put any pressure on me to do anything, but I’m being quite proactive about the situation so I suppose he hasn’t needed to. For example, I’ve done some online stuff about building resilience, improving my CV etc.

Really hope your husband gets another job soon. It’s a shitty time out there for so many people.

Thanks @Pregnantandredundant sorry to hear you're in the same position, I hope you too find something soon.

I'm trying to take a similar approach to your DH and be positive and encouraging but not pushy. It's so hard when the prospects are so minimal and DH is normally a really positive person but I can sense he's already feeling despondent. I'll suggest he looks into some online stuff on resilience etc as I think that might help in the longer term. Like you he's been as proactive as he can, spending lots of time on LinkedIn engaging with people and networking but sadly it's not borne fruit so far.

Several people are going through this, including my DH who has not found work since November. Similar age. Possible racism because companies email excited after seeing his CV, saying he matches everything the want and to call, but the second they hear his accent or see him in a video chat, the job evaporates and then is re-advertised.

Anyway, one thing he did was study a new post grad qualification to show he’s current and up to date in his field, not sitting home doing nothing and to make him more competitive with younger candidates who will have more recent education. From my perspective, working on this qualification kept him busy enough so his thoughts didn’t spiral down because job searching is soul destroying.

He obviously also spent few hours a day on the job boards and applying, but during holidays and lockdown it was really same jobs over and over, nothing new. So he could do it in a 1/2hr to 1hr a day. The qualification filled time and he felt productive.

My DH was made redundant at Christmas from a job working overseas so it was a double whammy in that he had no job and also had to come home and leave his friends etc which he had made over the 4 years he had worked there plus he had to readjust to living in the U.K. again. It’s been lovely in that our children have really enjoyed having their Dad here again but it’s completely destroyed his confidence. He is only 41 but was working at a very senior level in a niche industry and there just haven’t been any jobs. He applied for loads before lockdown in lower roles but didn’t even get interviews. He connected with someone on LinkedIn just before lockdown and is doing some consultancy work for them at the moment but we are mainly living on our savings and my tiny salary.