Tech Grief: Survive & Thrive Through Career Losses

Tech Grief describes the many career losses IT workers or people who work for technology companies experience and then defines a roadmap to healing, one that embraces the logical/analytical brain while employing tools to engage and heal the emotional pain of loss. The underlying premises are drawn from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Kubler-Ross’ grief process and the latest in grief counseling best practices. The introduction of the book describes the phrase “Tech Grief,” which the authors coined. We isolated the concept from the general idea of grief because many people in technology jobs are so focused on left-brained, problem-solving methods that dealing with emotional pain can be incrementally more difficult, more prolonged and less successful.

The “Understanding”’ section defines a variety of circumstances that may trigger grief. Each situation is drawn from real-world examples facing people in this industry. This will draw people in because they are likely to see themselves in the examples. In ‘Working Through,” we give specific guidelines and processes to help people move through the process. “Moving Beyond” helps people move to a place that is even better than where many of them were before the loss event occurred. Just as the best doctors work to establish a condition of “health,” rather than simply curing illness, “Moving Beyond” helps one achieve a state of self-actualization, which is empowering and powerful.

Finally, we end with some helpful resources that can be employed during the journey. Tech Grief is a pocket self-help career kit for the technology worker and people who have other jobs in the tech industry. Although the examples focus on this population, the guidance and processes can be of use to anyone in other industries who has to deal with a career loss.