Is Finding a Job Difficult for Laid-off Employees? Despite the preferential demands of the job-candidates, job security invariably remains an unspoken and compulsory tool to weigh a particular job's prospects

Employment is an important source of earning for the young and educated population. In the developing country like India, new companies gradually encroach in the nation, crossing the geographical boundaries and thus, creating more occupations for the literate demographic (population). The enticing salary figures and work culture tempt young graduates to ascertain jobs in MNCs or bigger companies. Similarly, the uneducated population also has the same job requirements- better pay and positive work culture, while searching for the job.

Despite the preferential demands of the job-candidates, job security invariably remains an unspoken and compulsory tool to weigh a particular job's prospects. Owing to various unfortunate events, a company downsizes or lay-offs employees. The process of downsizing the company adversely affects the employees, in turn, disrupting their career.

How Employment Is Indicative Of One's Personal Growth

According to the report of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the current labour participation rate has gone down from the previous years' labour participation rate. India's Labour participation rate is 42.7 per cent as on February 2019, as reported by the Indian information company, CMIE. Herein, the labour participation rate is the share of the working age demographic which is either employed or unemployed.

Various economic crises such as demonetization and IT majors' lay-offs have been attributed to the reason of decremented employment in the successive years since 2017. Following the lay-offs, the dismissed employees suffer adversely.

Despondency Amid Laid-Off Employees

The permanent dismissal of employees begets a bad impact on the overall growth of an individual. The morale, income source and career, almost everything comes to a halt. The sudden dismissal, further, intensifying problems as the employees are not prepared for it. Secondly, the laid-off employees have not searched for any alternatives for the time being.

In 2017, a vast majority of IT companies in India laid-off IT professionals to reflect on their respective company's growth. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was an immediate replacement for dismissed employees. The downsizing occurred because of the company's inclination to automation and decrementing the operational cost.

"There is a change in the trend where automation has taken the driver's seat to propel cost efficiency and the utilization of human resources for less mundane and routine work," said N Shivakumar, business head of recruitment process at Teambase, in an interview to Quartz India.

Partisanship Towards Laid-Off Employees

In the job hunt, laid-off employees face countless obstacles from screening to getting on board. Their efficiency is examined more than other candidates as the "lay-off" tag acts a blotch on employees. Consequently, they face impartiality too.

1. Are Not Considered A Working Professional

Since the lay-off happens suddenly, the working professionals are not left with an option. After they leave the job, they begin searching for a job actively. Finding a suitable job in accord with one's salary and vocation is a hard task. During the time of job hunt, the gap in the résumé increases gradually and thus, employers don't deem them working professionals anymore.

2. Considered Unfit Pros By Some

In the industry, it is a usual perception that the laid-off employees are unfit and thus, fired from the company. After, assessing the background of such employees, the interviewer draws an impact in the mind and subsequently, impeaches the potential of the candidate.

3. Partisanship In Remuneration

Since the non-working gap appears in CV, the professionals face problems in the salary negotiation process during the interview. Getting a reasonable salary becomes difficult for the candidates and thus, companies offer lesser salaries to the professionals.

These practices happen recurrently with the employees who are laid-off by the previous companies. While searching the jobs, laid-off professionals are impeached on various grounds.