Sky, 34, Melbourne. Chef.
I think it was about mid-March when I learned I would be stood down. I had been following the situation with the virus in China so I knew it was going to get here. I don’t think many people around me even understood the term “exponential growth” before this. I was keeping an eye on the premier and the news. We were all just told one day in the kitchen what was happening.
For about six years I had been working at bistro as a chef, but I’ve been in the industry for 11 years. I was doing between 28 and 32 hours a week, just on a regular chef wage, and casuals are last preference to return to work. I look after my son at weekends so my employer does not let me work full time.
With the jobseeker payment you also get the healthcare card, which makes medication, gas and electricity cheaper, and rent assistance. It’s less, but not way less, than I was earning. To be safe, I withdrew $10,000 from my super.
While it’s been really helpful to be able to do that, with compound interest it would be more than $10,000 which I now won’t have when I retire. That sucks.
Overall this period has probably been good for mental health. I haven’t had to work my arse off, and I actually get a bit of time to myself. I’ve been able to start a graphic design course, as well as pursue video game and pop culture journalism writing online. Working day and night it’s hard to pursue your passions.
I felt trapped in hospitality to be honest. It’s given me a way to think about how I can get out and move forward with my life. There are some great people there and there’s a bit of an LGBT culture in front-of-house staff, which is comforting.
The kitchen can be harsh at times though. It’s really, really hard work for not that great pay. And it’s not always a nice environment. You have to learn how to deal with all types of personalities and possible confrontations.
So I see a silver lining among it all. This boosted jobseeker payment allows me to take stock of my life and think about what’s next. I’ve been really active with my job provider and I’ve been applying for jobs flat out every week. A lot of retail jobs, things like JB Hi-Fi, have been hiring. Any traineeships.
Of course, I would hazard a guess that it’s not just me – it’s thousands of people doing the same thing. Everyone is doing the same thing and nothing has really hit yet.
I chose the graphic design course because it seems like the work is going to be more digitally focused with the way the world is going. I’ve also always been into computers, having done a now out of date Cisco course at high school – back when the world was just sitcoms and touchscreen phones were cyberpunk fiction.
So I’m trying to get back into that IT thing while pursuing my personal passions – it’s where I feel most suited. All my friends are graphic designers, writers, software engineers and they are such nice people.
The other thing about this time is that it has been just beautiful to be able to have more time with my kid. My son has always been the most important thing in my life. I also didn’t have time to see my friends really either because I was working split shifts, day and night, and I would just be wrecked afterwards.
It was just work, sleep, work, sleep, and then I would be a mum and pick my son up. It was just a very busy life.
The pandemic has given me time to re-evaluate what’s healthy, not just for my son but for me.
But the worry is what’s going on with the economy and how difficult it’s going to be to find work. And what might happen to the jobseeker payment after September. Every day Google is sending me news alerts about people losing their jobs at Qantas, losing their jobs at Woolworths, thousands and thousands of people. It’s not looking good.
My rent is about $340 a week so if jobseeker goes back to $280 a week it wouldn’t cover rent. And then I would have to figure out how to pay for food and electricity and gas and all the rest of it. I have to be financially stable – I won’t allow myself to be homeless.
There has been some talk about jobseeker not reducing so much, so I’m hoping the government makes the right decision there. Perhaps the politicians can take a pay cut like New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Now that’s a leader.
As told to Luke Henriques-Gomes
• Do you have a story about being unemployed for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Email luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com
