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How Furlough Stopped Me Equating My Self-Worth With My Career Achievements

Before I was furloughed by my current employer, I had read numerous articles published by charity sector news that implied the industry was going to be heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic – resulting in a loss of jobs for many. 

So it didn’t come as a shock to me when I was informed by my HR department that I was being furloughed. At first, I was understandably upset, but I still counted myself as one of the ‘lucky ones’, as I was still receiving a monthly income, and was still made to feel like part of the team.  

However, I struggled to shake the feeling of worthlessness that I felt. During the first few days of being furloughed, I spent most of my time feeling empty, which resulted in me being unproductive and confined to the four walls in my room. As you can imagine this had a huge impact on my mental health.

I was embarrassed to tell my friends and family because I knew I would get a look of sympathy, and honestly I already felt bad enough about the whole situation. I didn’t need anyone else’s pity because I already pitied myself.

After the first few days, I agreed to stop with the pity party. I took advantage of free online courses and research resources, I started experimenting with cooking and even started to learn the basics of investing.