From Section 189 to Hustle post 9-2-5

Here’s a hypothetical scenario:

You get a section 189 letter on a not so random day from your employer. It’s been a long time coming. The company you have been working in for the past 10 years has been struggling to stay profitable. Your colleagues are in an emotional state for two reasons: 1) because they sympathise with you but 2) predominantly because they may be next. Your industry peers are safe, however, they are anxious because the job market is characterised by VUCA. It’s tough times in the sector you are working in and the economy at large.

You have a very good idea about the technicalities of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. Due to structural, economic or technological factors an employer may issue an employee with a section 189 letter. The employer can either redeploy you or give you notice of termination of employment. You are unlucky and are dealt the latter. You are provided with ‘sufficient’ notice period and a severance package of sorts. As a person who has worked for only 10 years, the formula that is used to calculate the severance package does not work in your favour at all. It offers 1 week’s pay for every year worked. 10 years of work translates into a paycheck of 10 weeks (2.5 months). This sucks! You cannot possibly survive on less than 3 months’ pay while looking for another job. You know for fact that job hunting and the recruitment process can take 6 months or more. Taping into your retirement fund is pointless because it too is in a dismal state. You got a mortgage, a car, two kids and another on the way. All funds that should allow you to survive are depressingly small. This really sucks!

10 years earlier:

When you started working 10 years ago you recall that burning fire you had to start something that could bring you extra cash. You entertained this but never really got it going. You romanticised about it, played around with many ideas but that’s where it ended. You were 100% on talk and thought and 0% on action. Had you acted on your thoughts you may have had a strong network of entrepreneurs and like-minded people. Who knows, maybe you could have been in a better financial position than now. Because you did not act, you will never know. The section 189 letter makes you remember the hustle post 9-2-5. You would certainly be in a better position to respond to the 189 scenario had you entertained this hustle.

Hustle post 9-2-5:

Your hustle after hours is essential. This is not a romantic idea. The hustle post 9-2-5 must be as fashionable as section 189. The principles of this hustle are not as straight forward as those of section 189. There are a lot of grey areas about the hustle. In particular, what to do? Where to start or how to start? The only clear area about this hustle is why to start. The answer is simple: for your survival, for your livelihood and those of your dependents. Even though the scenario described above is hypothetical, being retrenched is not far from reality for many people. You don’t want to be in a position where you are facing this beast face-to-face. Here are my thoughts on the hustle post 9-2-5:

• For the average person, emergency saving are non-existent. For your above average person, emergency savings exist in small quantities. In both cases, emergency savings cannot be used to survive if you get retrenched. An alternative source of income is absolutely necessary for your survival whether you get retrenched or not.
• After 40 hours of work and 56 hours of sleep you have 72 hours per week to dedicate to your hustle. Time is definitely not an issue so do not make excuses about it.
• Don’t leave you day job. Don’t under-perform either. The side hustle is a life line that should supplement you main source of income. However, it does not warrant compromising your main source of income. Aside Note: if the side hustle gets lucrative then you should definitely consider leaving your day job.
• Embrace the freelancer’s paradigm: small gigs add up, embrace failure, ask for help and build your networks. You need to be a ‘solopreneur’ that is connected with like-minded individuals.
• Don’t wait to get retrenched to start. The world of VUCA is ever present so rest assured you cannot afford to be complacent.

The looming fear of a 189 has forced me to think of ways to supplement my 9-2-5… The next step is to move from thought to action.