MONEY TALKS: LIFE TRANSITION
Job loss remains to be among the most severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has led to many losing their primary income source and resulted in an increase in poverty
“I was an employee at a high-end Nairobi-based hotel for about 5 years. My salary was decent. Paying school fees for my eight-year-old daughter was always second on my priorities after clearing my $200 rental fee. I’d reserve $150 to cater for my household expenses and still have a good amount of money to save. ” Lorna Chiruka, 27 explains.
After the pandemic hit in March 2020, the hotel and the restaurant industry took the first hit.
“We had to make do with a pay cut and work from home. After three months, I got a notice informing all employees that they were no longer employed. It was elaborate on how the industry took a plunge and due to travel restrictions, the hotel’s customer base was at an all-time low. The business was no longer sustainable. To avoid incurring expenses that would lead to a debt crisis, it had to shut down.”
Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, Kenya reported its first infection case of COVID-19. By March 15th, 2020, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta issued several directives. One, in particular, was for employers to allow their employees to work from home. This largely affected many businesses that depended on employees being physically present at work. The lockdown and restrictive measures that were established as infection cases increased led to some businesses shutting down while others downsized on employees to cut operational costs.
According to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, as of September 1, 2020, the unemployment rate had doubled to 10.4 percent as compared to 5.2 percent in March. As many as 1.7 million Kenyans had lost their jobs. The number of employed Kenyans had shrunk from 17.8 million to 15.9 million. The most worrying thing is that the age bracket most affected by unemployment is 20–29 years.
Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs in the coronavirus recession. For many, the news gets even worse, as some positions are going away forever. Across the world, prospering countries with citizens who were regaling in riches in just a few months were fighting for meals and bare necessities. Vacancies in casual jobs like cleaning streets and unclogging drains had unbelievable job application volumes from many who were trying to seek a steady income and earn money to buy food.
But this worldwide state is not permanent. It is just a challenging transition forcing us to let go of the familiar and face our reality with a problem-solving and compassionate attitude. We can see it as building our future despite how vulnerable we feel. Losing a job is life-altering and the process of moving through a transition is not quick and easy.
However, change is constant. In most cases, a life transition is defined as a period of growth because it is a time where the person going through the transition learns to overcome adversity and changes for the better.
What if your job loss was the perfect storm?
