Verizon Isn't Google or Amazon, But Layoff Could Trigger Homelessness

"I've been laid off for 5 months now [from Verizon] and haven't been able to find anything. My reserve funds are all tapped out and if I don't find something in the next month I'll be homeless..." - Blind, Septemer 2023

Typically employees at Verizon (which used to be the old-fashioned New York Telephone Company, then NYNEX) aren't high-flyers like those at Big Tech. So, it might be a sign of these weird employment times that a former product manager could actually wind up in the pickle of homelessness. Implied are a lack of a nest egg, marketability to land another job and/or the availability of comparable jobs. 

This Knowledge Worker could be atypical. But the scary part is that they could be becoming standard: Fall off the white-collar cliff and you're done. 

In my coaching, those who do fall off that cliff have been turning to a reset in the trades. Those range from long-distance truck driving to construction. All have academic degrees. Few are bitter, though. The cultures in the trades seem less toxic to them. Also, they trust their co-workers, actually enjoy them.

If I were coaching this former Verizon employee I would hammer: Pick up gig work. Beyond Uber and DoorDash there are the caretaking positions for the elderly, children and animals. That could kick off with registering with Care or, just for Animals, Rover. 

The entrepreneurial can set up their own micro enterprises for delivery and/or caretaking and/or, yes, crafts. One of my clients, a former middle manager, is making ends meet through renting tables at fairs and farmers markets to peddle his homemade jewelry. That's enough of a go that he is moving on to ecommerce.

Before falling off the cliff, though, the new financial common sense is to have multiple sources of income. Never again depend on simply the day job to pay the bills. 

The Wheel of Fortune hasn't been turning in the employee's favor these days. That's why around the world all eyes are on the UAW strike. If leader Shawn Fain gets what workers want there can be a reversal of fortune for the working man. Maybe they can go back to the Paradise of only having to work one job. 

Data or the gut for your careers and communications? Both of course. Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach, content-creator, and Tarot reader Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).