"Seeing peers lose their jobs has a way of making people weird. It's not much different from grief. When someone loses a loved one, you can almost feel the tension: people fumbling for the right words, hoping not to say something insensitive, then saying something insensitive anyway. "Everything happens for a reason." "They're in a better place." That is, assuming any condolences are shared at all."
"I've been on both sides of this situation, a casualty and a survivor. I've seen folks who are lucky enough to evade the chopping block minimize, deflect, or disappear. It's not that people are cruel. They're uncomfortable. Layoffs remind us how little control we have over our own jobs. And in that discomfort, we forget the person in front of us is going through some real s**t."
Layoffs create grief-like experiences that make coworkers uncertain, awkward, and prone to offering platitudes or avoiding contact. People often minimize or deflect the impact, focus on their own workload, or ask unhelpful, unanswerable questions. The sudden absence of colleagues disrupts daily routines, community bonds, and professional identity. Many who remain feel uncomfortable because layoffs expose how little control exists over employment. Genuine concern, direct check-ins, and listening are more supportive responses than clichéd reassurances or silence.
Read at Fast Company
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