The Great Resignation has given way to The Great Apprehension, as more than half of U.S. companies layoff employees or plan to in the coming months.

The result: Nearly half (48%) of Americans have layoff anxiety. And if you talk with employees at organizations that have recently experienced a layoff, their descriptions of the layoff - and their current workplace - reflect a deeply shaking experience.

It may be time to add layoff anxiety management to our ever increasingly diverse set of life skills.

Maybe we can put these tools in the toolbox right next to the tools we have developed for dealing with anxieties such as “I could die from COVID” and “we are facing the potential extinction of the human race.”

You are completely normal if you felt any of the following recently:

• Too upset for business as usual AND too scared to do anything but business as usual

• Relieved you still have a job AND guilty that you still have a job or worried that your job could go away

• Waiting for the next shoe to drop or scanning for signs of what is to come

The truth is that workplace turbulence such as layoffs or even the fear of losing your job can trigger our old losses, unfurling negative self-talk that makes it harder to attend to the here and now.

If layoffs have occurred at your workplace, you may be:

• Saddened by the loss of colleagues while worried about how their departure will impact you

• Worried about your job and then feeling guilty for thinking about yourself

• Experiencing a lack of trust in the organization and/or lack of motivation to do anything

• Or experiencing the stages of grief that always include:

• Denial: This can’t be happening

• Anger: Who is to blame?

• Bargaining: If I do X, then it won’t happen to me

• Depression: I’m too (sad, scared, angry) to do anything… or…why bother, it won’t make a difference

• Acceptance: I don’t like it, but I can’t change this

These indicators of grief: disbelief, sadness, guilt, anger, and fear are part of life during turbulent times.

And if we are managing others, we will need to balance our own grief while helping others cope with loss and uncertainty, which can be extraordinarily draining without a personal resilience plan.  

We are all unique in how we brace for or deal with loss: both in terms of what we grieve and how we experience it.

Just as the stages of grief are universal, so are our tools for helping each other cope during these turbulent times:

• Create space: Give grace and space to fellow employees. When managers and employees give each other grace and space to deal with uncertainty and loss, employees regroup much more quickly.

• Seek predictability: This may seem contradictory to #1, but find opportunities to return to predictable work patterns as quickly as possible - it supports mental health.

• Express value: Because feeling vulnerable, if not dispensable, is a normal reaction, let your colleagues know how their actions positively impact you or others.

• Seek community: Negative emotions, of any kind, are sharpened when experienced in isolation and more manageable when experienced as a valued member of community. Seek opportunities to connect with others in ways that fit with your introverted/extraverted style.

• Control: When anticipating difficult times or after a sudden loss, humans need different opportunities for control, like swimmers need to change their breathing. Creating opportunities for choice and autonomy can help your colleagues process and restore a sense of balance more quickly.

Coming up in future posts: Layoffs are not the only thing emerging from the turbulence around us. After the shock and grief of a layoff fade into the background, employees will need to strengthen particular skills for the road ahead, just as we need to build new muscles or stamina when taking up a new sport. Watch for tools and content in the coming months to support these evolving needs. 

Sources:

Peppercorn, S. (2023 Jan. 17). Managing Your Emotions After Being Laid Off Harvard Business Review.

Tyrrell, P., Harberger, S., Schoo, C., Siddiqui, W. (2022 Nov. 19). Kubler-Ross Stages of Dying and Subsequent Models of Grief. National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine. 

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (1997). The Truth about Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to do about It. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.