A lay-off may be difficult to cope with mentally and emotionally. Some feelings you may experience include grief, anger, sadness, hopelessness, or relief. Any feelings you experience are valid. Remember that there are steps you can take and resources you can access to support your mental health and emotional well-being during this process.
Self-care during this difficult time
To practice self-care, consider developing a modified routine based on the ideas below. Visit Balanced You’s blog at www.kcbalancedyou.com for more suggestions.
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- Nurture your physical health. To help reduce anxiety, try and move your body each day. Remember to also eat nutritious meals when possible, drink water, and avoid excessive caffeine or alcohol.
- Connect socially. Connecting with loved ones is important for you emotional well-being. Connect with others via video chat or socially distanced hangouts.
- Attend to your mental health. Attending to mental health can look different ways for different people. Any safe coping mechanisms – cleaning, videogaming, Netflix, exercising, etc. – are okay in moderation. Develop a routine that works for you, leveraging the following resources, if needed.
Mental health resources for employees facing layoff
The following resources are available for King County employees. Please note the details of what resources are available during employment, and how availability becomes modified once an employee’s leaves the county.
- Employee Assistance Program: The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to support you in processing any workplace questions or concerns during your employment period with King County. Call 206-263-8733 or email HRDEAP@kingcounty.gov for an appointment.
- Making Life Easier: Making Life Easier (MLE) provides free counseling on all topics, credit and legal consultations, mortgage and childcare resources, and more to all employees and dependents, as well as anyone sharing the employee’s address, including roommates. MLE therapists can be filtered by race, ethnicity, and language. You can access MLE during your employment and for 90 days after your layoff goes into effect. Visit the Making Life Easier website (username: King County) or call 1-888-874-7290.
- Mindfulness classes and videos: Balanced You has partnered with Mindfulness Northwest to provide mindfulness classes and on-demand videos to support employees in reducing stress and improving well-being. Online, interactive classes are available to current employees. On-demand mindfulness videos are public-facing, meaning you can access them now and after your employment ends. Visit this Balanced You blogpost for more information.
- Therapy via telehealth: Regence and Kaiser therapists and other healthcare providers can be accessed from the comfort and safety of your home via telehealth. For more information about telehealth, visit the King County telehealth webpage. For more information about continuing medical and other benefits following lay-off, visit the King County Benefits webpage.
- Mental Health Resource Guide: For a more comprehensive list of King County employee and community mental health resources, review the Mental Health Resource Guide via this link.
For a list of financial resources for employees facing layoff, visit this blogpost.
If you have additional questions, or if Balanced You can be of assistance to you throughout this process, reach out any time at balancedyou@kingcounty.gov.