Earthquake + Hurricane = More Stress

All the way up and down the Atlantic Seaboard (and beyond), Mother Nature decided to add a plethora of new stresses to the bad global economy, record breaking unemployment, unstable stock market, indecisive government leadership, etc.

First, there was the earthquake which shook most everyone from the Midwest to Canada. It caught me typing an email in my office and I really thought I was having a heart attack until I noticed the walls, my phone, computer, bookcase were all having heart attacks too! Unfortunately, what was already shaping up as a slow week in the recruiting business got even slower once the quake took placed.

The second stress of the week came about a day later when all weather forecasters (including an old high school friend at the Weather Channel) began painting a very bleak picture of the damage and destruction expected from Hurricane Irene. As someone who lived in the town that was the center of Hurricane Floyd almost 12 years ago, this left a huge lump in my stomach. Now living in a place that floods less but becomes an island, I started balancing the need to keep working with storm preparations. Unfortunately, Irene proved to be a very stubborn lady and did create hardships, some of which are still unfolding due to river and stream flooding at rates never seen over the past 500 years in many places.

A third stress actually took on two prongs. For many like me, there was the inability to start the work week on Monday, the day after the storm because roads were either flooded or covered with downed trees and power lines. In North Jersey, part of Route 287 actually fell into the Rockaway River, causing stress for thousands of commuters including my wife. For too many others, they woke up in shelters, neighbors' spare rooms, or trapped in their own homes and now face the ugly task of cleaning up and rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.

During stable times, this would be a daunting challenge to everyone who was impacted in some way. Today, this is even tougher to swallow. So many folks are either unemployed or underemployed that they do not have money sitting in savings to help get repairs going until their insurance carriers or FEMA come to their aid. I just heard that President Obama will have to find money to fund FEMA as they do not have enough funds to finish repairs from Hurricane Katrina. That was SIX YEARS AGO and we still do not have money to close that book! Many more people will undoubtedly lose jobs, at least short term, when companies are forced to close doors while awaiting loans to rebuild from storm damage.

I wish I could provide some sound advice. The best I could offer right about now comes from the fact that if you are able to read this article you are most likely safe and sound. If you, your friends, and family are alive and well, you have overcome the first hurdle. Start prioritizing your needs, one by one, and do not try to recover completely in rapid speed. Just like a diet, the best way to recover is step-by-step so you do not fall backwards. Do not pay for services that seem overpriced. Do not accept offers of temp jobs payable in cash that may never show up. Continue on the path you already carved out before the crazy events of the past week, albeit with a few extra hurdles to overcome.

My best wishes go out to everyone as we all try to gain strength from a very bad stretch!