CONFLICT THESAURUS

LOSING A JOB



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HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, relationship friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Power struggles, increased pressure and ticking clocks, failures and mistakes, duty and responsibility, losing an advantage, loss of control, ego-related conflict

EXAMPLES:
Being fired
Being laid off due to budget cuts, a merger, etc.
Having to leave a beloved job due to personal circumstances beyond the character's control (needing to relocate, having to care for a sick relative, etc.)
Being intimidated into quitting (through discrimination, harassment, etc.)
Reluctantly choosing to leave because of difficult work circumstances (dealing with an inept or abrasive boss, being unable to advance professionally, the company making a moral shift that one can't support, etc.)

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Difficulty finding another job
Leaving valued co-workers
The character having to explain to people that they lost their job
Having to downsize or relocate one's family
Dealing with the inconveniences that accompany a job change (finding new insurance coverage, etc.)
Having to deal with work associates after the termination is complete (to fill out paperwork, to bring someone up to speed on a work project, etc.)
Being contacted by a client who doesn't know about the termination and having to rehash everything after the fact
Lack of organization resulting in a long, drawn-out termination process

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
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RESULTING EMOTIONS:
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POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
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PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
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IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
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WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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