Theme:– Operation J.U.M.P. For Jobs, Justice & Unsung Dreams

It seems in the space of one week we went from relationship hookup to relationship breakup (not with the same couple). First it was news of NBCs Savannah Guthrie tying the knot and adding that they’re expecting. But it’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s breakup that’s giving new meaning to an economic paradigm shift.

After 10 years of marriage to musician Chris Martin, Paltrow announced that they’re parting. It’s not the first time that celebrities have called it quits. But it’s the first time that a separation has been referred to publicly as a “conscious uncoupling.” Who knew that there was a more sophisticated way to say divorce?

Apparently, while the term is new to the cultural zeitgeist, it’s not new to the marriage therapist who coined the phrase. The idea is to approach the separation with mutual respect and human sensibilities. This way they can minimize the level of feelings getting hurt and pocketbooks getting burnt.

Wouldn’t it be nice if another approach were to be tried when dealing with the long-term unemployed? They have been experiencing a job market separation for a long time. Operation J.U.M.P. might call it a “conscious re-coupling” into the job market where they can re-connect with a sense of economic worth.

For Paltrow and Martin things are coming to a bitter-sweet end. So their “conscious uncoupling” will hopefully make the money decisions less painful. In the case of the long-term unemployed they’d like to see an economic paradigm shift that moves their self-worth from “bitter-sour to dollars per hour.”

Footnote: Operation J.U.M.P. is a new sophistication in human resources that provides a social change and empowerment approach of advancing public policy initiatives and professional incentives for jobs, justice and unsung dreams.