The squeeze on jobs means that many of us are now juggling our finances. But if we are more open and honest about our earnings then all of us will be better off
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in July, Rob Campbell, 50, received a Zoom call from his boss at the advertising firm where he worked as a head of strategy. He took it in his bedroom. It wasn’t a good call. His boss was courteous, professional and regretful that, what with coronavirus and everything, Campbell was being made redundant. His five-year-old son was playing just off camera. Fifty is not a good age to be made redundant. But once the shock receded, Campbell did something hardly anyone does when they are made redundant – at least, not before the pandemic. “I’m sort of a loudmouth prick,” he explains. “And I just thought, I’m not going to go quietly.”
He posted a picture of himself on Instagram with a FOR SALE banner over his head. In an extended caption, he announced his dismissal with the fanfare that people usually reserve for new job humblebrags – and explained that he wanted to remove the stigma around redundancy. “Yes it’s shit, but right now it’s happening everywhere & no one should feel embarrassed about it.” He was immediately inundated with messages of support, offers of work and requests for help from those in similar positions.
