This is not normal
Never has my newsletter title been more appropriate: The Public Health Workforce is definitely Not OK right now
It has been a week without precedent for the public health workforce. This is not normal.
So I am breaking my silence to offer some brief advice.
In other words, I guess that means welcome back to
The Public Health Workforce is Not OK
Season 4: This time, like for reals.
First, a note
I am still committed to keeping my writing free for those who are job seeking in public health (which is basically all of us these days, right🤣?). But please note:
This commitment is subject to revision as soon as I lose my job!
If my writing has been valuable to you and you think that it should be available for free to others, please consider supporting this newsletter with a paid subscription.
I’m planning to put Seasons 1, 2, & 3 behind a paywall, accessible to paid subscribers, just as soon as I figure out how.
Every little counts. If my perspective has been meaningful to you, please buy me a coffee.
Moving forward
We are entering uncharted territory. This is unprecedented.
Here is some supportive advice. Some of these strategies may work for you, others may not. Pick and choose the ones that you like.
Please bear in mind that most of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience (and random 90s lyrics). I will dispense this advice now:
If you have been forced out of your job:
Thank you for your service and for giving a damn.
This is not a reflection of your skills or abilities or performance or value. You are more than your job. You always have been.
Please know that you are not alone, your work matters, and you have the support of many behind you.
There is deep trauma here. Take your time in responding. Seek support.
Talk to your loved ones. Talk to your friends. Talk to a therapist. Keep talking. Or writing, if that’s how you process. Umm, hello.😳
You’re in this field because it’s a passion, because you have a calling. Take pride in the work that you have done. You are here because you care deeply. You matter. Your work matters.
Explore the many resources* available to #FiredFeds but beware of scammers and predatory recruiters.
Take a moment to be in it and feel the feels before you’re ready to fix it.
It’s ok if you are not ready to hit the job market immediately. If you take the time to become a healthier person, you’ll be better at it when you begin.
Create the kind of networking opportunities that you seek. If you can’t find a Microbiologists’ Online Happy Hour at a time when you are not driving your kids somewhere then start it yourself. Social media can make leaders out of all of us.
Speak up, speak out, speak loud. You’re not a federal employee any more. Tell your story and seek action. Tell your community, tell the media, call your representatives.
Find the thing that gives you comfort. For me it’s caring for things that grow. Sometimes that’s plants, sometimes that’s my kids. And sometimes they piss me off too.
If you have not been forced out of your job yet:
Show kindness. Show empathy. Build community*.
Reach out to our colleagues who have been terminated to thank them for their dedication. Meet up for coffee. Bring over soup or doughnuts or a book they might like.
Be ready to offer references, review resumes, suggest connections to friends who are job seeking. But be understanding if they are not ready for any of that. Let them know that you’ll still be there when they are ready.
Show up. Keep showing up. Try to continue your public health work with renewed vigour and purpose. I know I know, it’s really hard. If you are still here, it’s dark.
It’s ok to feel no comfort in not being terminated (yet).
It’s ok to feel survivors’ guilt. But don’t worry, you might not survive for long. (Joking not joking.) Grieve for the colleagues we have lost.
It’s ok to feel overwhelmed. Take some time off if you need it. Take some time to look away from your social media feed.
Witness. Bear testimony. If you can’t speak out because you are still a federal employee, take notes to record what you see in case a future time comes when you will be able to speak out.
Either way, advice for everyone:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Hang out with the people who know what it’s like. Online or IRL.
Let’s communicate what public health is and why it matters that so many of us have been forced to leave our jobs. What is your proudest moment in public health? Complete this form to tell your public health story.
Bears repeating
I’m not sure where we go from here. All my previous plans for Season 4 have been derailed by reality. Please get in touch if you have suggestions for how to use this newsletter to be a supportive resource to the public health workforce at this time. I welcome hosting opinion pieces from my fellow public health professionals - get in touch to pitch me if you want to use this platform.
Meanwhile, I emphasise what I said in my last newsletter:
“At this time of uncertainty for the public health workforce, let’s remember our commitment to science and evidence and data. We know that validating emotions and baggage has a place too, but we need to be able to identify them and distinguish opinion from fact.
Let’s recommit to kindness and mutual support for the public health workforce and beyond. If leaders are trying to sow divisions among us, the best we can do is to respond with empathy, and by strengthening, connecting, and lifting up one another.
Right now, the best I can offer my fellow public health professionals is a place to gather and reflect and share and vent and organize and ask questions and offer support to one another. We’re going to need that now more than ever.”
*This is a plug for the Public Health Connections Lounge on LinkedIn, where we seek to build community and conversation among public health professionals. Join us.
Join me to continue the conversation in the comments or Notes or Chat or in the Public Health Connections Lounge:
How have you been affected by the seismic changes to the public health workforce this week? How are you doing? Can I offer you a hug? Or a doughnut?
Do you have any more wisdom to share? What have you learned from recent seismic events in public health?
What questions would you like to ask about moving forward? (Apart from WTAF, obvs.)
Please like ❤️ and restack this post if you believe in public health.
If you are new around here, Welcome to The Public Health Workforce is Not OK! In this newsletter, I share frank insights and start conversations about the experiences of building a public health career. You can get to know me here and here. Please subscribe, review the archive, and join the conversations in the Lounge. I am committed to keeping this newsletter free for job seekers (at least, for as long as I still have a job).
To all public health workers: your work matters, and you have the support of many behind you. Especially me.
Entering my 4th week of unemployment after losing my job at a non-profit. Staying motivated. Glad (unfortunately) that this series is back!