The bottom line is, you don’t work here anymore
➔ Technically when most older workers lose their jobs, they are not fired. Laid off? Maybe. Down-sized? Good chance. No matter what they call it though, you’re out of work.
If it’s any comfort, you’re not alone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, last month there were more than one million workers age 50 and older who were presently looking for work. How prevalent that is depends largely on the industry and the position from which you were let go as well as other factors. Then again, a great many older workers were at their last jobs for considerable lengths of time – some even for decades.
It could be worse
As bad as you feel about your present circumstances, there are people who have it worse. For instance, pity the poor professional football coach.
There are 32 teams in the National Football League, each with its own head coach. At the beginning of the 2022 season, according to profootballnetwork.com, there were ten new head coaches in the NFL. That’s 31 percent of all the head coaches in the league – a record. Houston is on its third new coach in as many seasons.
Of the remaining 22, one already has been fired in mid-season. Last year there were two let go in mid-season. Both interim head coaches from 2021 were not retained for this year.
There is an old saying about professional sports coaches (football, baseball, basketball, et.al.) that says that the day you’re hired, you’re one day closer to getting fired. That’s certainly true in the National Football League.
Of the 32 predecessors of the incumbent head coaches beginning this year, 26 of them – 81 percent – were fired. Of the remaining six, two left their teams by “mutual consent” with ownership and only four, actually retired.
But professional football coaches fare comparatively well. According to Business Insider, the average tenure of an NFL coach is 4.3 years. That’s better than Major League baseball managers whose average tenure is 3.7 seasons. Head basketball and hockey coaches both last an average of 3.4 years.
Despite the fact that they are paid exceedingly well, they do not exactly enjoy job security.