A year on from redundancy…

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I posted this thread a year ago today, so indulge me whilst I reflect on life since redundancy and what I've learned…

Redundancy sucks. Regardless of the circumstances, and no matter how much are told otherwise, you take it personally. I know mine was due to Covid – and the arts being forgotten about when it came to Government support – but you have moments where you see it as a reflection of your worth.

My confidence was knocked massively by redundancy. In leaving my job, all the work I had been doing just stopped – Covid meant a change of direction for the company, but I felt like I was being erased. I was Marty in Back to the Future, watching myself disappear from the family photograph.

At these times, you begin to doubt everything you did in that job. I questioned whether my work was good enough – and then felt like I’d let down the artists I had been supporting. This is not a good place be in when looking for work.

In early 2020 I interviewed for 2 Chief Exec jobs, and felt I was ready to step up – but post-redundancy, I didn’t believe I could apply for those jobs any more. Undoubtedly my job applications from then on exhibited some of this under-confidence – I didn’t much joy with applications.

Between August - December 2020 I applied for 87 full time jobs; by my maths, I did on average 6 job applications a week. This doesn’t include applications for temp jobs, which I would also be doing at the same time so I’d have some income.

Interviews were stressful – I oscillated between downplaying my skills/experiences and giving rambling answers in a desperate attempt to please. Each failed application/interview just knocked my confidence even more.

Post-redundancy there is *no* support for you, beyond friends/family. I had the good fortune to start a course of therapy a couple of months after losing my job, which helped me work through some stuff – but until then, I felt consumed by my lack of confidence and didn’t know what to do about it.

I spoke to some others who went through Covid redundancy, and sensed we all were in a fairly similar emotional state – but beyond recognising and sympathising, what could we do for each other? It’s sad that there wasn’t something to support the large number of people going through this.

I appeared on @BBCr4today (twice!) last year to talk about my redundancy, which felt like an important opportunity to let people know how dire things were in the arts. I found it easy to talk about what had been happening – but wished I had answers or solutions https://twitter.com/dan_baker83/status/1293098505003773952?s=20

Ultimately I eventually I secured a job in Jan 2021. It’s not an arts job, but it’s something where my skills overlap and is interesting. And, frankly, the culture is better than I’ve ever experienced in the arts.

My current job has helped me to realise some of the things I’ve found problematic about working in the arts. A step away from the sector has been helpful to give me perspective, and to think about what my values are.

My confidence is slowly building back up. I had other personal stuff happen last year, and I recognise that getting through everything is an achievement. I think we can all recognise how we’ve done bloody well to survive 2020, so pats on the back all round.

Through everything, though – I’ve kept thinking about how the arts needs to be better. We need to treat people better. We need to change so much about our culture of working. I am motivated by a desire to make positive change, and am looking forward to the chance to do just that.

If anyone wants to talk to me about their redundancy experience – on either side – then my DMs are open. I’m always open to talking about these things, and want to support anyone who needs it. The consequences of Covid, and impact of redundancies, are far from over.

I understand why my redundancy happened. I sympathise both with everyone made redundant, and those having to make those calls – it’s a horrible position to be in. But let’s learn from that, and make this a healthier industry to work in moving forward.