Survivors' Guilt

I just returned from a 5-day trip out of the country to find three more friends holding pink slips. There’s an old joke in economics about the unemployment rate: it’s either 100% when you’re out of a job, 50% when you’re worried about your job, or 0% when you’re employed.

Today, I’m feeling there needs to be a new measure. My LinkedIn, Facebook, and other networking sites are blinking with suddenly – refreshed contact information from experienced professionals. But my firm is not hiring, and I don’t know any that are. Feebly, I forwarded a link to a friend with decades of experience in financial services. The job on the link? Air traffic controllers! I understand the government is hiring. Another friend is doing pro bono work to beef up her resume outside of banking. I am spending significant time worrying about jobs when I still have one. Does that put me at 50%?

Back home, my husband and I review the savings plan, running through, “What if?” The conversations are great. Financial planning in the last decade became too much about mutual fund performance. Instead, it should be all about what-if. In our case today, our what-if runs to the threat of if one of us loses a job or has to accept highly reduced income. What if our parents need help? What if the kids don’t thrive in public school? What if we can’t make this car last seven years?

Are you changing your behavior? Your conversations about money? If you’re lucky enough still to have a job, how is unemployment changing you?

By Marie Claire Allvine