Six months. That's how much time off Lance Dyke plans to take before he starts work again.
Last month, the 51-year-old found himself out of a job for the first time in more than three decades. His was one of 23 redundancies announced by Dunedin City Council-owned company Delta.
Having worked for the DCC since the age of 18 in a variety of roles (his most recent was as a civil construction worker), Mr Dyke knew something was amiss at the utility company.
"We had a fair idea there might be lay-offs, because we'd literally been standing around the yard for a while, waiting for a job to do. We spent a bit of time cleaning trucks.
"It took about seven or eight days from the time they announced redundancies to walking out the door. It was reasonably short and sharp. On the Friday I finished, I went in at 7.30am and was home by 8.30am."
And what did he do then?
He went to the pub.
"I mucked around home until 11am, then I texted one of the boys and said, 'I'm getting bored, what time does the pub open?' We stayed a few hours, then wandered home. It was nothing flash. We usually have a beer late on a Friday afternoon anyway."
Beers aside, there seems little to celebrate of late.
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion, released this month, indicates a sharp slowdown in growth over the second half of this year.
Regarded as an accurate reflection of the country's economy, the NZIER report revealed economic activity slowed in the September quarter, the trading activity indicator dropping to -7% from 0% (seasonally adjusted) and principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub forecasting annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth would slow from 2.6% in the June 2012 quarter towards 1.5% in the second half of the year.
The labour market is also weakening.
Statistics New Zealand figures reveal there are now nearly 40,000 fewer jobs in the manufacturing sector than in 2008 (from 230,000 down to 192,200).
New Zealand's largest private sector union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), has had at least 73 different companies notify it of redundancies in the past year.
And that's not including the lay-offs recently signalled at Solid Energy's sites at Spring Creek on the West Coast and Waihi and bad news from Alliance's Mataura meatworks and the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter at Bluff.
Tiwai Point will soon make 65 people redundant and the Alliance Group announced recently it planned to shed 325 jobs from its Mataura plant, although 260 sheep meatworkers would have the chance to work at Lorneville, near Invercargill.
Closer to home, Mike Kirwood, Otago organiser for the EPMU, is in discussions with five Otago companies on proposals to reduce staff or hours.
"Add that to the big ones and there seems to be a mini-epidemic of restructuring going on around New Zealand," he says.
In his 17 years in the role, Mr Kirwood has dealt with a range of redundancies, including the loss of more than 30 jobs at Dunedin printing firm Wickliffe Press in 2007 and the mass layoffs at Fisher and Paykel's Silverstream site in 2008-09, when about 500 people lost their jobs.
The reactions to such news can vary markedly, he says.
"Some people take it in their stride, while others struggle. The reactions are very broad. Some people feel very hurt, especially if it is unexpected. Some people deal with it better if they know what's going on.
"You can never tell how someone will react. There is no common thread."
New Zealand has 1.3 million full-time equivalent workers (comprising 1.7 million full-time, part-time and other seasonally adjusted jobs). Of those workers, 400,000 are in a union (300,000 are covered by collective agreements).
Depending on the nature of their individual employment contract, some people might not have any redundancy compensation, Mr Kirwood says.
"Some people don't get anything, even though they might have been working at a place for 20 years. They might just get four weeks' pay and less than a month's notice.
"There are some winners, but they are a small number. Redundancy is difficult."
That said, Mr Kirwood has dealt with people who have, in retrospect, regarded their redundancy in a more positive light.
"I run into people all the time. Some of them are still a bit grumpy about having been made redundant. Others are happy as hell. They've found other roles and have used their redundancy payment as a way to reduce the mortgage. Some might be in a job with less pay but they seem a bit happier.
"I don't run across too many people who remain bitter, say, several years after being made redundant. It might have come at the right time in their life."
Lance Dyke is honest enough to concede that he was ready for a change, even if it was an enforced one.
"The last couple of years I started to loathe it. That's one of the reasons I want to have a break. I don't want to return to that industry. It's too hard on the body.
"After 32 years working, I'm going to give it six months. My partner is a schoolteacher so I'm going to do a few things around the house (the couple have an old villa).
"I've done a bit of planning over the years. With the payout I got, I can pay myself enough each week for a year."
Mr Dyke believes he is in a better position than some of his former Delta colleagues.
"Most of the other guys have got jobs for other works outfits. One went to Australia as soon as he got the news. I'm a lot luckier than most of them.
"There are some with kids or who are younger. There are guys who have to pay maintenance or are living in a flat on their own. They are struggling. One guy, the last I heard, hadn't got a job and has a big mortgage."
Tess Livingstone, a practice leader at Careers New Zealand's Dunedin branch, says it is important to act sooner rather than later when being made redundant. That not only means assessing one's own skills and qualities when contemplating a new job or qualification, but also accessing whatever help is at hand, be it budgetary advice, brushing up on interview skills or seeking financial support from Work and Income NZ.
Put simply, it's important not to go into a shell.
"People need to push themselves to have the opposite reaction, which means staying involved in clubs, professional bodies, networks of people," Mrs Livingstone says.
"Getting going again is important. Around six weeks, routines and motivation start to slide and it can become harder to be proactive in the search for a job.
"Often people, when they've been in a job for a long time, think in terms of a job's title, rather than the tasks they do within that job, so sometimes it's good to break down the role."
People should also evaluate the tasks they do in other roles within their lives, including hobbies or community activities, as there might be an opportunity to combine personal interests with a skill-set developed through a previous career.
And don't think too far ahead, she says.
"It might help to think in time periods. Say, in the initial period after being made redundant, a person might look for a similar job. However, if they are unsuccessful after a certain amount of time, they might start to think about working outside their industry or moving to another place.
"If you did that all at once, it might be too much to take on. But doing it incrementally might work better."
Mrs Livingstone acknowledges that such advice, be it from careers adviser, friends and family or others who have experienced redundancy, can sometimes be lost in the emotional reaction that follows being laid off.
"Redundancy is not about a person's job performance - it's the role that's being made redundant, not the person, though people do feel it is personal.
"It shakes a wider set of securities. Many people operate under the belief that if they work hard and meet expectations, then things will work out OK."
Tom Lamb, of Workplace Support, likens redundancy to bereavement. The loss of a job can also mean a loss of self-identity or self-worth.
"You don't realise how significant that is until it is taken away from you." It is similar to the "grief cycle", he says, wherein initial feelings of denial, anger, fear and sadness give way to acceptance, hope and, eventually perhaps, a personal reorganisation of priorities. The process of coming to terms with redundancy takes time.
"It is a devastating thing to face," says Mr Lamb, who has dealt with many redundancies in his 13 years in the role.
"There are older people who might be wondering where they'll get a job at their age, while younger ones might be thinking their job is important because they have a mortgage and a young family.
"It calls for strong leadership in companies and sometimes that leadership is not based in the town in which the redundancies have occurred."
A "staff supporter" who also describes himself as a "low-level" counsellor, as he deals with staff on a regular basis, Mr Lamb says even those who remain employed after a restructuring process are affected.
"It is ongoing. You will find that even though the business might have re-established itself, those people who remain involved might have lost a lot of trust in the company."
Though many headlines of late have focused on large-scale company restructuring, the impact of redundancies within a smaller workplace shouldn't be underestimated, Mr Lamb says.
"It is harder on these people for a variety of reasons: all staff know one another well and thus all feel the loss and an in-depth concern for those being laid off; that can also lead to feelings of guilt among those still employed.
"In a small business, the manager might know a month or so in advance, but has to manage the business as if it was going to continue for another five years. He or she is already planning changes and that is an unenviable position.
"That person also has to look after their own interests, because they could be caught up in the result of a redundancy - they could be shutting down."
Diana Hudson, managing solicitor for the Otago-Southland Employers Association, says employers are often overlooked in the discussion surrounding redundancy, but they have feelings, too.
"Employers get a pretty bad rap about this stuff, but it's hugely difficult for them, too.
No-one enters the redundancy process with any feeling of great joy.
"I think it's fair to say that some of the redundancies we are seeing have involved long-serving staff in small businesses, which is really hard.
Some businesses might have only six staff and a boss who is hands-on.
"I've seen some very upset employers."
Getting back up again
While redundancy can be a major financial and psychological blow, there are ways to get back on your feet...
It is important to know what is on offer in terms of support from your workplace during the redundancy process, says Tess Livingstone, practice leader at Careers New Zealand's Dunedin branch.
"Make the most of things like CV support or job-search coaching or interview coaching.
"Don't leave it too long to get the financial advice you might need.
Research all that stuff, anticipate being on a reduced income if need be. And be prepared for a longer job search than you think.
"People who are facing redundancy are able to access information in a range of ways, to help them feel informed and, perhaps, further down the track, to work out what they might do next."
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SUPPORT SERVICES
As part of the redundancy process, your employer may offer counselling or career advice services. Use these.
Counsellors can help you work through your emotions and discuss options for your future, while career advisers may be able to give you a better picture of your chances of getting work in your area, or suggest other areas where your skills may be in demand.
SORT OUT YOUR FINANCES
If you have received a redundancy payout, think carefully about how to best use this money. Do you have debts to clear, ongoing bills to cover, or do you want to put the money towards retraining for a different career?
Talk about how you can manage your money with your family and friends, or get help from a financial adviser or online budgeting website.
Beware: if there is no provision in your employment agreement for a redundancy payout, you may leave your job with just your last pay cheque and whatever annual leave is owed to you.
You may be able to get financial help from Work and Income.
START A NEW ROUTINE
Hobbies can become a positive part of your new routine.
It can be hard to motivate yourself each day, so create a schedule, mapping out each week and/or setting yourself goals for each day.
For example, you might want to set aside a certain amount of time to devote to your job hunt. You might also take the opportunity to do some voluntary work. This gives you the satisfaction of contributing to your community, and you may gain useful experience or skills to help in your hunt for a job. You could even hear about a job opening.
GET BACK INTO WORK
When you've had time to adjust, start thinking about your future. This is a good time for you to review: what you've been doing whether you enjoy it/what aspects of your work you have enjoyed what you want from a career what skills and knowledge you have.
If you want to find a job similar to your old one, start meeting recruiters, contacts you have in the industry and potential employers. Even if you are still upset, being positive will help you make a good impression.
CHANGING CAREERS
If you want to move into a new area of work, you need to ask:
Do you need to do more training to work in this area?
Will this career pay as well as your past job, and how will you manage if it does not?
How will the new career fit in with your life outside work - your family, hobbies and other commitments?
TAKE TIME OUT TO TRAIN OR RETRAIN
Training need not be a huge time commitment. Short courses give you the opportunity to pick up new skills or knowledge that you can add to your CV. This can improve your chances of finding a job, or allow you to apply for a wider range of roles.
START YOUR OWN BUSINESS
For some people, being made redundant can provide the push needed to start a business. Even if your knowledge of your business area is sound, you'll need to ask yourself:Do I have the ability to motivate myself and schedule and complete work on time?
Do I have enough money behind me to start a business?
What are the start-up costs?
How will running a business affect my personal life, including family, sporting commitments and other hobbies?
Can I deal with the many areas of running a business?
For example, sales and marketing, production, accounting and clerical work.
Source: Careers NZ
More information
www2.careers.govt.nz
www.workandincome.govt.nz
www.sorted.org.nz
