Layoffs: What Comes After The Shock

The silence. This is often the 2nd thing people experience after a layoff, behind the initial feelings of shock. 

You are not alone in this. The silence is deafening after you spend 40+ hours/week alongside your team & collaborators, pouring your time and energy into your work, firing messages & emails back and forth, hopping from meeting to meeting... and within minutes or next-day you're sitting alone at your home computer; no Teams or Slack; no work email open; total silence (and loneliness). Doesn't matter if you were in-person or a remote worker. And oftentimes, the silence is more profound for those who work remotely. They've been used to that same room and the same desk where they'd tackle the daily grind alongside their fellow humans... and suddenly their company laptop sits powered off for good. 

When I talk to those who've been freshly laid off, the abrupt silence and loneliness is one of the most unexpected, hard-hitting impacts they experience. It's grief. Just add that to the other feelings of sadness, anger, and/or fear (of the future) one experiences immediately after a layoff. 

If the silence or loneliness is too much, take care of yourself and get away from your home office. Get out for a walk or run some errands. When using your personal computer to plan your next steps or start job searching or networking, get out of the house and do it from a coffee shop or public library. Ease back into that chair and desk when you feel ready. #layoffs #jobsearch #4SightCoaching