FROM THE ARCHIVES OF PRAGPUB MAGAZINE MARCH 2016
When Co-workers Are Fired or Laid Off
By Johanna Rothman and Andy Lester
Managing your career is a job in itself. Fortunately, Johanna and Andy have seen all the career mistakes people make and can steer you past the hidden rocks. This month they talk about what to do when co-workers are fired or laid off.
💭 Andy
This month’s topic is an unpleasant one, but one you’ll probably have to deal with some time in your career: Firings and layoffs, where you are not the one who was let go.
Some day you’ll have an impromptu meeting where the boss calls everyone in to announce that, “Dave Smith has left the company to pursue other opportunities. His last day was today.” Even though the word “fired” was not used, that’s what it means. Dave was let go for a reason, probably related to his work performance.
Or maybe the boss will say, “The company has had to make some hard decisions, and the position of Junior Bottle Washer has been eliminated. Dave’s last day was today.” This is a layoff, and is usually not related to performance. The company wants to spend less money on personnel and so that position was eliminated, and since Dave was the one doing that job, he was let go.
In both cases, the company is going to be tight-lipped about what happened, and will give you minimal information. Part of this is for legal reasons, and part of it is because it’s bad for morale for people to see the boss discussing private matters. It’s exceptionally bad form to ask about these things. Yes, you want to know why Dave got fired, but it’s not your business and it’s not your place to ask.
Similarly, don’t ask about how the choices were made for the layoffs, and don’t ask if there will be more layoffs. The answer will be, “We hope not, and we don’t have any planned, but we can’t promise anything.
💬 Johanna
You will have feelings about these events. Acknowledge them. You might feel happy that specific people are gone. You might feel guilty because you are still employed. You might feel excited that you now have some new opportunities.
One thing we recommend is that you do not talk about the layoff during the work day. It’s tempting to visit with people and commiserate. Don’t do that. Rehashing the layoff or firing creates a negativity bias. The more negative you are, the less effective you are at work.
💭 Andy
And don’t waste time and your emotional capital trying to figure out what happened, or what’s going to happen next. It’s easy to fall into the trap of, “What didn’t they like about Dave? Dave was late on his last project, and I’m going to run over on my current project! Oh my God, I’m going to get fired next! I better start working on my resume!” That’s how to make yourself crazy.
Instead, focus on things what you can do to make the situation better. It’s never a good situation if people have to be let go, whether or not for cause. Look at what you can do to improve the situation.
💬 Johanna
You might want to reconnect with your team to decide what actions to take. If your manager was laid off, check to see that your current priorities are the same as they were yesterday. If so, determine what you, as a team, need to do to deliver the work.
If one of your team members was laid off, work with your manager to determine what work you don’t absolutely need to do. Some managers will respond with platitudes such as, “We’ll have to do more with less,” or, “You can just manage that work, too, right?”
That manager is fooling him or herself. You will need to decide how to reorganize the work. You might deliver less work. You cannot have fewer people and expect to deliver the same amount of work.
💭 Andy
That “more with less” is just nuts. It’s the same sort of thinking that leads to directives like, “We have to get the project done by June 1 because that’s when the trade show is,” whether or not it’s actually possible to do all the work in that time. You should always be prepared to defend against unreasonable timelines, and the weeks after losing a staff member are especially dangerous.
💬 Johanna
Have a one-on-one discussion with your manager. What is your manager’s most pressing problem to solve? You might need to use words like that, instead of “highest priority.” Too often, managers don’t know what their highest priority is. But they might know their most pressing problem.
💭 Andy
Don’t overlook the emotional impact of these changes. Maybe you look at yourself as being as logical and unemotional as any Vulcan, but that’s not usually how these things work out. Even though you still have a job, there can be quite an effect on you and how you work. You’ve lost people that you’ve worked with. You may be worried about the safety of your own job.
💬 Johanna
You might have survivor guilt. You still have a job and the people who were laid off don’t. Listen to your feelings. You can build your resilience if you acknowledge your feelings.
When I’ve been the layoff survivor, I have a little list of things I do:
- Check in with myself. Make sure I know how I feel.
- Check my resources: my savings, my friends and family, and my work. Do I have enough money to survive a future layoff? Do I have a support network outside of work? Am I building a career at work?
- At work, focus on the work. I have had those discussions at work about the layoff. They depress me, so I focus on the work I can do. After work, I might have more discussions with my colleagues.
I tend to be a positive person, so I look forward. Ask yourself, what do I need to do to keep focused forward and make this just one more experience in my working career?
💭 Andy
If you’ve had a layoff, chances are you’re going to be wondering, “Am I next?” and, “Is the company OK?” That’s just sensible thinking. Companies don’t lay off employees because things are going well.
The most important thing to do with these concerns is not to panic. Sit back and wait a few days for the emotion and anxiety to pass. You don’t want to be making decisions based on fear and stress. Let things calm down so you can look at them rationally.
💬 Johanna
Before you decide a firing or layoff is a trigger for you to find a new job, think about what you want out of your work. Maybe the firing helped your team. If you have an unjeller (someone whose actions prevented the team from working together) or someone who didn’t do the work, firing that person helped your team. If the company has some uncertain financial times now, or ahead, decide if you can live with the financial risk.
A layoff or a firing is not always a trigger for you to find a new job. On the other hand, I once worked for a company that had a quarterly layoff for three quarters in a row. I got tired of waiting for the next layoff and found a new job. I was happier with less risk and more stable work.
💭 Andy
If nothing else, let the layoffs remind you that nothing is certain, and “job security” is an oxymoron. The vast majority of US workers are working under at-will employment, meaning you can get fired for any reason that doesn’t violate your civil rights.
If your reaction to bad news is thinking, “Oh, man, I have to put a résumé together!” then one positive thing you can do is just that: get that résumé together and keep it fresh. Don’t wait until there’s a crisis. Polish up your résumé and update your LinkedIn profile now, so that it’s there when you need it. When you do need it, you’re going to be under a lot of stress and time may count. That’s no time to start such a big project.
If you have comments or questions, we’d love to hear them. Next month, we’ll talk about what to do if you’re the one fired or laid off.
About the Authors
Johanna Rothman provides frank advice for your tough problems. She helps leaders and teams see problems and resolve risks and manage their product development. She is the author of 10 books, including Manage Your Job Search. She writes the Pragmatic Manager email newsletter and blogs on www.jrothman.com and www.createadaptablelife.com.
Andy Lester has developed software for more than twenty years in the business world and on the Web in the open source community. Years of sifting through résumés, interviewing unprepared candidates, and even some unwise career choices of his own spurred him to write his nontraditional book Land The Tech Job You Love on the new guidelines for tech job hunting. Andy is an active member of the open source community, and lives in the Chicago area. He blogs at petdance.com and tweets at @petdance.
