Understanding Corporate Layoffs

It seems as though everyone either knows someone or knows of someone who has been laid off in the past year. Being laid off a job you love or a job you’ve sacrificed so much for over the years can be both excruciatingly painful and fearful. So much is going through your mind: What will people say? What will people think? Why me? What did I do? What could I have done differently?

If anything, understand the following:

Layoffs are about numbers, not people.
Companies have grown so big, everything is about the bottom line on a spreadsheet. The majority of people do realize that companies don’t differentiate between the employee who has dedicated two-dozen years to the company and the person who was just hired last year to push papers. Corporate layoffs are, for the most part, conducted in a very numerically efficient and institutional manner.

It doesn’t matter how hard you work, your company can still lay you off.
When employees first hear of corporate layoffs, their first reaction is to work harder and make themselves indispensible to the company.  You can work as hard as you want, but in most cases, it won’t change a thing when the person at the tops takes a look at spreadsheets.

Openness is the best policy.
No matter how many rumors circulate around the company regarding layoffs, nothing in the world can prepare you for the shock of actually losing your job. Anger, hurt, embarrassment, and fear are a few of the many turbulent emotions that circulate through your mind and body.

How do you pick yourself up and move on with your life? Openness, I believe, is the best policy. People want to help, but you need to be open and tell them what you need from them. Be open about your experience, qualifications, and new direction.