<\/p>\n
This was something a client said to me recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it will make me look weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Society often equates vulnerability with weakness. Keeping our emotions and challenges private can be a protective mechanism to keep us safe, free of judgement and rejection. How many times have we thought: What will people think if they know this about me? What will they say? It works as a shield, keeping us from being our authentic selves.<\/p>\n
The strength in vulnerability is that it allows us to create intimacy with others; to connect with people in a more humanistic way; to give others permission to be vulnerable and to let them know that they are not alone. We can start by accepting and sharing our flaws, our past mistakes, our regrets.<\/p>\n
I have always believed that vulnerability shows your true character, your strength, your ability and capacity to overcome challenges that life has thrown at you. Choosing to be your authentic self outweighs all that society teaches us about who we are and who we ought to be. About what it means to show up, be engaged and committed and remain true to your values.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI\u2019m scared of being vulnerable.\u201d <\/p>\n
This was something a client said to me recently. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it will make me look weak.\u201d <\/p>\n
Society often equates vulnerability with weakness. Keeping our emotions and challenges private can be a protective mechanism to keep us safe, free of judgement and rejection. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n
When you think of grief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cathy Miyagi3-4 minutes 7\/29\/2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Tue, July 29, 2025 at 7:22 a.m. PDT 4 min read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Losing your job can be one of life\u2019s toughest setbacks, so navigating it with clarity requires taking time to process your emotions, understand your legal rights, and seek professional advice \u2013 key steps to getting your career and finances back on track, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like mourning a death, getting laid off from your job can drag you through the classic stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The loss of your job not only means loss of income, but also loss of workplace friendships, your identity and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t always equate grieving with job loss,\u201d said Farah Kotadia, founder of Wellness Works Counselling in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy sitting with our grief, we're actually reflecting as well, and we're thinking about our next steps... so take the time to grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you miss certain co-workers, Kotadia suggests reaching out to them. \u201cIn a job, there's always pieces that we like and pieces that we don't like, so what resonated with you? Where does passion come in?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grief in the context of job loss could take a couple of weeks, a few months or even a year to process, said Kotadia. One day, you may feel hopeful sending out five job applications with cover letters and the next day, you may feel like not getting out of bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat's OK. That's normal. That will happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While emotions can run high immediately following a layoff, employment lawyers advise not to act on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don't want people to take this opportunity to tell their bosses everything they hate about them or bad-mouth the company to others,\u201d said Lior Samfiru, national co-managing partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of those things could bring legal action against the individual, but equally as important, may make it that much more difficult in resolving a severance issue.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samfiru said individuals and employers alike misunderstand provincial employment standards, which often require workers to be paid one week of salary per year of employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The standards are just a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samfiru, whose firm\u2019s website has an online severance pay calculator, advises getting legal advice when faced with job loss as 90 per cent of severance packages initially offered by companies are \u201cinadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellnessworkscounselling.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/young-frustrated-businessman-holding-his-head-pain-after-being-fired-work-1-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>Cathy Miyagi3-4 minutes 7\/29\/2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Tue, July 29, 2025 at 7:22 a.m. PDT 4 min read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Losing your job can be one of life\u2019s toughest setbacks, so navigating it with clarity requires taking time to process your emotions, understand your legal rights, and seek professional advice \u2013 key steps to getting your career and finances back on track, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like mourning a death, getting laid off from your job can drag you through the classic stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The loss of your job not only means loss of income, but also loss of workplace friendships, your identity and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t always equate grieving with job loss,\u201d said Farah Kotadia, founder of Wellness Works Counselling in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy sitting with our grief, we're actually reflecting as well, and we're thinking about our next steps... so take the time to grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you miss certain co-workers, Kotadia suggests reaching out to them. \u201cIn a job, there's always pieces that we like and pieces that we don't like, so what resonated with you? Where does passion come in?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grief in the context of job loss could take a couple of weeks, a few months or even a year to process, said Kotadia. One day, you may feel hopeful sending out five job applications with cover letters and the next day, you may feel like not getting out of bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat's OK. That's normal. That will happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While emotions can run high immediately following a layoff, employment lawyers advise not to act on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don't want people to take this opportunity to tell their bosses everything they hate about them or bad-mouth the company to others,\u201d said Lior Samfiru, national co-managing partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of those things could bring legal action against the individual, but equally as important, may make it that much more difficult in resolving a severance issue.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samfiru said individuals and employers alike misunderstand provincial employment standards, which often require workers to be paid one week of salary per year of employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The standards are just a minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After considering your age, tenure with the company, industry, any medical conditions and the current unemployment rate, severance could be ten to 20 times higher than what\u2019s outlined in employment standards, Samfiru said. That\u2019s why any documentation providing a wholistic view of your income is key to estimating your severance entitlement. This includes your employment agreement, bonus plans or commissions payouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samfiru, whose firm\u2019s website has an online severance pay calculator, advises getting legal advice when faced with job loss as 90 per cent of severance packages initially offered by companies are \u201cinadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Five Stages of Grief in Experiencing Job Loss:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Denial<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You may say to yourself \u2013 is this really happening? It will take some time to accept the job loss; to accept that you are now unemployed and need to start again. Don\u2019t rush through the emotions, ignore, or suppress them. Losing a job can be a shock to our system. Give yourself time to process and reflect on the learnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anger<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anger can mean frustration or a violation of your core values. Whatever it is, work through<\/em> your anger. Look for opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third phase is bargaining \u2013 this can happen within ourselves, with another person or even with a higher power \u2013 whether you believe in a traditional God or the Universe, bargaining or negotiating is something each of us do at different times in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depression can come in at any time during our grief journey. The best thing you can do for yourself is sit with the depression and sadness, be inquisitive, analyze it, and work through it. This isn\u2019t always easy, and we sometimes need additional support in working through our depressive episodes, such as seeing a doctor or a counsellor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acceptance is the final stage of the grieving process. True acceptance is when you can appreciate the lessons you learned from the loss and move on to a future that is meant for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBargaining<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Depression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Acceptance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n