When Your Job Changes

By Gini Graham Scott

Don't Resign Yourself ... Redesign Yourself

Given today's climate of corporate layoffs and dot.bombs, many employees are working scared. But even if you don't toil in high-tech right now or for the foreseeable future, any change in your job or job description can cause you deep concern. Maybe it's not recessionary pressures you're worried about; maybe it's a new boss or a new client that has you thinking the best course of action may well be to get up and get out while it's still your choice to make.

But you don't have to resign yourself to becoming one more casualty of these turbulent times. Instead, think how you can redesign yourself as an employee to create a new and improved version of you that can withstand any trauma.

I thought this an especially timely message after I received several e-mails from readers having problems adjusting to their changing work environment. One example especially haunted me: a woman-let's call her Jackie-had just started a new job as a counselor in a social services agency dealing primarily with Hispanic families.

While she had superb credentials as a family counselor, and advanced training in her field, she felt at an immediate disadvantage. The reason was that she didn't speak Spanish-yet she had replaced a counselor who spoke both Spanish and English, and she reported to a similarly bilingual supervisor. Yet such fluency was crucial since the community which the agency serviced was now populated almost entirely with Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Naturally, this situation begs the question: why had the agency hired Jackie in the first place? Because she was good at her job. Apparently, the supervisor had been impressed by Jackie's work history and hadn't thought through the language barrier problem. After all, the new immigrants would be learning English, right? Unfortunately, not fast enough for Jackie, who described how difficult it was to learn her new job given these near-insurmountable obstacles. Worse, she was still in her six-month probationary period and could be fired without cause at a moment's notice. Little wonder the workday was making her increasingly upset and emotional.

Clearly, if Jackie really wants to stay gainfully employed, her first step is to learn Spanish as soon as possible. But she also needs to repackage and even remotivate herself to more effectively do her job. Just as importantly, Jackie has to be sure to let others know she is not in the process of resigning but rather in the process of redesigning herself to fit the new demands of her new work environment. That way, her bosses, colleagues and even clients may offer to help her. And letting everyone know she wants to do better could buy her time with supervisors who, after all, will soon decide her future.

Remember, if you are facing a similar situation, the sooner you take action to protect yourself and your job, the better. Otherwise, wasting all that time worrying just means what happens will be out of your hands and into someone else's. And that's a far more uncomfortable place to be in than any floundering NASDAQ company.

Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., J.D., is an author and specialist in organizational behavior, conflict resolution, and creativity. To discuss a work-related relationship problem, send a brief description of the dilemma with an e-mail address and a phone number to GiniS@aol.com.

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