It's hardly the thought that leaps to mind when confronted with sudden job loss: "This could be a good thing. Really."
However, after a month or so has elapsed, and as the shock wears off, there are those who start to glimpse "the silver lining" - especially if they were in high-stress, long-hours management roles before the axe fell, according to a study recently published by McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business.
After years of going full tilt, the first thing many appreciate is that they finally "have time to think," says Prof. Jelena Zikic, co-author of the study published in McMaster's Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.
Prof. Zikic, who teaches human resources at York University, and fellow researcher Julia Richardson, also of York, were not disputing that job loss "can indeed be a highly negative experience."
But in the course of their research, which included extensive interviews with 30 managers and executives who had lost their jobs late in their careers, they found that "many of the interviewees perceived the down time as a rare and welcome opportunity."
All 30 had received severance packages and the offer of career counselling services from their previous employers. This provided the opportunity for "self-reflection, stock taking and time out" - which most used to their advantage to eventually move into new careers or self-employment, they write.
An information technology manager, who used to be on call all the time and slept with a pager, realized, only after the fact, that she had hated her job, Prof. Zikic says. She took out a loan, went back to school and trained as a nurse.
Another former manager told the researchers he'd had "a reputation as a hardcore workaholic, which was sort of what you needed to be." He worked every Sunday, and routinely received e-mails from colleagues well past midnight.
"But I found once I was out of there, I went to being very laid back and mellow very quickly. And nobody, least of all myself or my wife, would have expected that," he was quoted in the study as saying.
The research participants had "a lot going for them" in terms of education, experience and business networks, Prof. Zikic says.
But this is not to suggest they had an easy time adjusting to unemployment, she adds.
There was the obvious money issue, and also the matter of pride and prestige.
Before they lost their jobs, they had been senior players in their organizations, "but once you're out of that box, you're on your own," she says.
Ralph Shedletsky, chief operating officer of Toronto-based Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions, says the manner in which someone's job is terminated has a major impact on how he or she recovers, takes stock and moves on. The more control a person has over the terms of departure, the better prepared he or she is to consider other options.
"On the other extreme end, for someone who thinks that life is just dandy and that their position is secure, and the next day they're asked to see their boss and are told that their job has been eliminated because of a decision made by someone in a backroom somewhere ... clearly they're not ready, they're not prepared," Mr. Shedletsky says.
"There's no silver lining in that; it's a dark cloud."
In many cases, though, there are positive sides to a "career transition situation" - even if they are not immediately apparent, adds Edmond Mellina, president of Toronto-based Transitus Management Consulting.
"You are able to finally step back and think about where you have been and where you want to go," Mr. Mellina says.
"It's quality time with yourself.
"It's not easy, because you are distressed that, as time goes by, the severance package is starting to shrink. But, it's really important to step back and reflect," Mr. Mellina adds.
Prof. Zikic says that many who participated in her study had already reached important milestones in their careers, "and this was an important moment to contemplate the next step - something they might not otherwise have done" had they still been caught up in the rat race.
"It is especially salient that interviewees believed that job loss had enabled them to escape one life and embark upon another."
Signs your job is in jeopardy
Your boss doesn't like you, and the feeling is mutual: You don't like your boss's character or style. He/she never solicits your opinion, invites you for a chat or out to lunch.
You don't get assignments that demonstrate your full range of abilities: All the good assignments go to others, or you get the ones that play to your weaknesses.
You are excluded from meetings your peers are invited to: You don't feel your ideas are valued or that your contributions are central to the company.
You always get called upon to do the "grunt work:" You are always singled out to do the tasks nobody else wants to do.
Everyone on your level has an office; you have a cubicle in the hallway: This is a blatant sign that you are not thought of as highly as others. It also telegraphs your status in the informal company hierarchy loudly and clearly, despite your title.
Your peers don't like you: You are never included in any of the social outings they plan, and you probably wouldn't go if invited.
You don't fit in, your values don't fit in: You feel that some of your employer's practices are unethical, and violate your own personal code of conduct.
You dread going to work, and feel like you are developing an ulcer: The very idea of going to work makes you anxious or physically sick.
Source: The Five O'Clock Club, New York