I am at home, doing my job, as I Work From Home. My partner is out in my car, as his is in the garage, returning my stepson back to his mum. The journey should only last 30 minutes. I receive a mobile phone call from my partner within minutes – he has crashed my automobile. Luckily nobody is injured, but the automobile is a mess. It is Xmas week. The weather is dreadful. Apparently there have been lots of vehicle crashes recently and the insurance company are not positive that they can plan to get my automobile or give us a courtesy car until after Christmas.

There is one thing we do not need to worry about here – we both Work From Home, so we do not have the added hassle of how we will get to the office each day. Although it is an inconvenience not to have a vehicle to pop to the shops, and there may be some Christmas rearrangements to sort out, we can continue with our jobs without issue.

My Internet Business does from time to time include visits to my clients, but luckily I had none booked, so I would not need to trouble anybody due to this accident. Most of my work involves Online Jobs and these can be done very easily without the need for a vehicle.

As it happens, the garage who were given the job of repairing my vehicle could come out the next day and pick it up, leaving me a courtesy vehicle at the same time. Again, the fact I Work From Home was a bonus, as I did not need to request time from the office to take delivery of the courtesy vehicle, or to see the safe recovery of my own car. The garage merely telephoned as the driver was leaving and I was able to meet him to sort out the handover. Within 15 minutes all was completed. No more time than a coffee break would take in an office, but had I been working away from my home I would probably have needed to request a whole morning or afternoon off work to do this.

Back into the house and return to my Online Jobs. My Internet Business was not at all put under strain because of this misfortune. I do not know how long my motor will be in the garage, but it is not a problem. When they call to advise that my vehicle is back to being sorted and they are ready to return it to me, I shall once again be able to walk outside, check the vehicle out, sign the papers and return to my home to carry on with my work.

The courtesy vehicle does need to be returned with fuel and washed, so I may have to spend a little while away from the house, sorting that out, but it is certainly better than having to request yet another day off work at short notice, which could inconvenience many of my colleagues.

Definitely, the fact that I Work From Home has been an added bonus and caused me less hassle in these circumstances than would have been the case if I was employed by a firm which required me to be in the office all week. I now just look forward to the return of my vehicle looking as good as new.

Friday comes around and a calendar notification arrives in your online calendar for an all hands meeting on Monday morning. Gossip is rife. What is happening? Are we killing the current project? Are jobs on the line? It is a long weekend.

Monday comes – eventually! The top bosses attend the meeting – it must be serious then! Yes it is. They are advising staff of the closure of the site in six months’ time and all the jobs are at risk of redundancy. Shock sets in. The whole site will be closed. Around two hundred staff searching for work. It is a horror story come true.

There you were, doing a good job for the employer, paying your mortgage and household bills, running a nice car and all of a sudden somebody else has pulled the rug from under your feet. You are angry, upset, confused, but you realize that you must pull yourself together and choose what your next course of action will be.

It may be that you choose you are never going to put yourself in this situation again, and one way to achieve this would be to Work From Home, for yourself. You have many talents and it is important to be convinced of them when your career bubble has just exploded. At a time when the Internet Business is gathering pace, you may find the ideal Online Jobs are just waiting for you.

While you are still in negotiation with your current employer, it would be an ideal chance to re-train, so that by the time you are made redundant, you are ready to set up your Internet Business and can hit the ground running. Hopefully your redundancy payout will allow you to spend a little time building up your contacts and being paid for any work you have achieved to date. You may even find that you have found a niche market and can now offer Online Jobs to some of your ex-colleagues who also like the thought of being able to Work From Home, but perhaps do not like the idea of needing to set up in business for themselves. You are very much aware of the talents you all have and know the best way to use these.

When you are considering your Internet Business opportunities, it may be that you make the decision to use your current talents in a totally new way. You were always praised for your presentation skills, your ability to present openly and in a way that seized the attention of your audience. Could these talents be used in any of the Online Jobs available? You were busy creating web pages for your company. Perhaps it would be possible to turn around this ability and look at jobs involving search engine optimisation.

The important thing to remember at this time is that you do have talents which can be used outside of your current career. This is sometimes hard to remember when you have worked for the same employer for a number of years. Discard nothing. If you want to continue in your current style of work, then ensure your CV is up to date and keep applying. If you think you would rather Work From Home then look at all the alternatives open to you, find a role you are really going to enjoy doing and put in the time and effort to make it work.

Whatever happens, keep in mind it is the site that is closing, or downsizing, not you personally who are being sacked and you have a good deal to offer in your next role.