Seeing co-workers being let go is not an encouraging sign, whether or not you feel secure in your position. To make matters worse, such layoffs often come out of the blue, causing even more confusion.
This redditor recently witnessed his team shrink by as much as 80%, which left him quite perplexed about why he wasn’t let go; especially since he admitted being far from an exemplary employee.
Layoffs in the workplace can cause confusion among the remaining employees
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
This redditor saw his team go from ten to two in just one day
Image source: imrichyourenot
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Layoffs tend to affect more than just the people who suddenly became unemployed
Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
Unfortunately, layoffs are something no worker is immune to, especially in the tech sector. Even though the situation now doesn’t seem to be as dire as it was last year—when 1,100 firms in said sector reportedly laid off over 260,000 employees—there’s still a chance one might be asked to pack their belongings and say their goodbyes.
The OP’s story is a great example of how things can change in just one day. And such a change tends to influence not only the person who’s suddenly found themselves without a job, but the company itself, as well as the rest of its employees. Psychological research suggests that the way the workplace handles letting people go directly affects the way the latter handle them, too: treating leaving employees callously is likely to be met with anger and retaliation between the “victims” and the “survivors”.
According to Dr. Batia Wiesenfeld of New York University’s Stern School of Business, “If employees aren’t treated with common decency and respect in a layoff, the company’s reputation is besmirched in many eyes,” which in turn negatively affects its publicity and market performance. Research suggests that the things that can have particularly detrimental effects are curtness, surprise announcements, perceived unfairness, dishonesty, and public humiliation.
Watching fellow co-workers pack their belongings might leave the rest in the company feeling “survivor’s guilt”
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
The OP’s story highlights that those who are not laid off might experience negative emotions, too, which often entail a sense of guilt. The “survivors” might feel bad for numerous reasons; they might believe, as the redditor did, that those with small children or caring for a sickly family member, for instance, might need a job more than them, despite them having no control over who is terminated or why.
Studies found that other aspects of their professional life, such as their productivity or quality of work, tend to take a hit, too. A study carried out by Leadership IQ revealed that close to three-in-four “survivors” have seen their productivity go down, and roughly four-in-five believe that the customers received a worse level of service since the layoffs.
In addition to that, many people who have stayed with the company after their fellow co-workers were laid off said that they would be less likely to recommend their workplace as a great place to work and believed that their company’s future prospects were headed downhill (81% and 61% of them respectively).
In the redditor’s case, it might be too early to tell if his productivity has decreased or if his company is bound to face a difficult time in the future. However, saying goodbye to so many of his team members seemed to have affected the “survivor”, one of the reasons likely being the uncertainty regarding what it means for his future with the company, too, which some redditors had some ideas about; they shared their thoughts in the comments under the OP’s post.
Netizens discussed certain details with the OP and provided advice on how to handle the situation
Some seemingly went through similar situations themselves
