‘Help! I am about to lose my job because I’m not vaccinated!’

From a reader

Dear Rose,

I just read your article entitled '13 Signs of a Toxic Relationship with Money' in the Health and Home magazine. (This is also published in the website and Philstar.com, click link of online version).  I’m reaching out to you to tell you that I enjoyed reading your article. 

I am about to lose my job because I am not vaccinated. Our department requires all its employees to be fully immunized against COVID-19 and I am not really into vaccines. So, maybe, I will be staying at home and become a full-time mom to my kids. I want to ask a favor from you. Can you give me advice on financial management and if you can recommend work from home jobs that pay? I would appreciate a reply from you.

Thank you and God bless.

Sincerely,

D.

My reply

Dear D.,

I’m glad that you enjoyed reading the article. I hope you have properly identified and avoided any of those 13 signs of a toxic relationship with money so that you can enjoy a healthy one.

Before I proceed to give you advice on what you can do as a stay-at-home mom, you may want to know the answer to this:

“Can an employee be dismissed for refusal to comply with the employer’s vaccination policy? Will the employee’s refusal to get vaccinated constitute just cause for termination?”

According to labor laws, the answer is no. An employee may not be dismissed for refusing to comply with the employer’s vaccination policy. The Department of Labor and Employment issued an advisory that any employee who refuses or fails to be vaccinated shall not be discriminated against in terms of tenure, promotion, training, pay and other benefits, or terminated from employment. A “no vaccine, no work” shall not be allowed.

BUT maybe you should answer the other important question:

“Why don’t I want to get vaccinated?”

Talk to experts to allay your fears about the vaccine. My personal take on it is I would rather be vaccinated, even without the threat of getting fired, for my own safety and those of the people around me. If you have a medical condition that may pose danger to vaccine complications, then weigh things well. But do see an expert on this matter.

On the matter of becoming a stay-at-home working mom, you are very lucky because there are a lot of possibilities for you these days. 

There are so many work-from-home (WFH) options right now. Even traditional corporations have shifted to WFH or hybrid arrangements wherein the employees just report to the office a few times a week instead of everyday.

If you plan to leave your company and seek other employment or start your own business, always observe the second basic law of money:

“Get only into a business that you understand, and seek advice only from competent people.”

Try to find your point of intersection. Answer the following questions:

What is it that I like doing?
What is it that I am good at?
What is it that I can get paid for?
What does the world need from me?

The Japanese call this Ikigai. This intersection is your point of success. This is where you are most likely to experience what people say as “The money will follow.” It’s because you will be doing something that you love to do and you’re really good at. You will feel great because you are of service to others and the world is a better place because of that. And of course people will be willing to pay for you because of the value that you give.

So, take stock of your talents and skills. You may ask the help of people dear to you to help in identifying these. 

With regard to money management, I do hope that you have already set aside your Emergency Fund – equivalent to six months to one year’s worth of expenses, to help you get by while you have not yet replaced your regular income. 

Watch your expenses like a hawk. Do you know that when I decided to become a full-time mom, that’s when I really watched each centavo and recorded them in our Income Statement and Balance Sheet? Little did I know that I was planting the seeds of my being FQ Mom! 

Check what expenses you can eliminate and take them out for the meantime. Check what items you can sell to help beef up your Emergency Fund. 

When you do all these FQripot moves, try not to feel “kawawa” but consider them as a family challenge that has to be borne together as a family. 

Remember what role money plays in your life. You may find all these in FQ Book 1: FQ: The nth Intelligence.

I hope all of the above help you in this new chapter in your life. 

Cheers to High FQ!

Sincerely,

Rose

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Do you know that mental health neglect affects your FQ? Join us on Thursday as I discuss this with Dr. Michele “Ichel” Alignay, board certified psychologist and author. 

2. To learn more about your money behavior, get your copy of FQ books and for your loved ones too. The principles you will learn from here are not only applicable in your financial life but all the other important aspects of your life. https://fqmom.com/bookstore/ 

To know more about FQ Book 2, watch this short video.

3. How good are you with money? Do you want to know your FQ score? Take the FQ test and get hold of your finances now. Scan the QR code or click the link http://fqmom.com/dev-fqtest/app/#/questionnaire 

This article is also published in FQMom.com.