In the US, we have something called the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN. It requires employers with over a hundred full-time employees to provide a 60-day notice for big layoffs or plant closings. I’m recording this at the end of June, and WARN notices have already been filed that will affect 243,000 people in 2026. The real number of layoffs will be higher, since it doesn’t include forced retirements or small layoffs dribbled out over time.
So if you’re working for a big company, you may be one of the people who were shown the door. Today, I’m talking to the people who stayed, and who aren’t sure how to feel about that.
The Confusing Math of Surviving
In the last layoff that you witnessed, colleagues left with a package that included severance payment and healthcare. Some part of you, maybe a big part, wanted that for yourself. Now you’re stuck at your desk and technically safe in your job, but it feels like the wrong kind of safe.
The options in front of you aren’t great: you can quit and walk away with nothing, stay miserable while you wait for the next round of layoffs, or raise your hand and volunteer to be laid off and risk being declined.
You might think of tanking your performance on purpose, then realize it’s a faster path to a performance improvement program than it is to a layoff, and a PIP would mean more work for you, not less.
So you feel this swirl of envy and bitterness, which is weird because some of the people getting laid off are absolutely devastated. It’s a bit like watching a friend end a pregnancy when you’ve been trying for years. You may feel a mixture of grief, shame, and alienation. And then you still have to do your job, like, the same day.
The Relational Wreckage
You know on the surface that layoffs aren’t personal, they are political. And politics can wreck relationships. What kind of conversation do you have with your laid-off coworker? Obviously you read their expression to know how to respond. But there is plenty left unsaid that can drive a wedge between you.
Your co-worker might partially blame you for the situation, not because you did anything wrong, but because you still have a job and they do not. It’s hard to maintain work friendships after someone leaves under the best of circumstances, let alone after a layoff where one or both of you are bitter.
Each of you want what the other one has, and neither of you can say so. Now you have the company facilitating your isolation and loneliness. When you survive something and didn’t want to, and you are standing in front of a friend who is being expelled and wanted to stay, it can create feelings of guilt and shame. Muddy feelings are an emotional and cognitive load, so it’s worth saying out loud to someone you trust how you feel. That can help prevent the feelings from bursting out later as irritability or brain fog.
Some of your work friendships may not survive, and that can be hard to swallow. It’s also a real loss and something to grieve.
What the Company Just Gave You
So you made it through the layoff even if you didn’t want to. What will you do with this time? Every round that doesn’t include you is an opportunity. You got the message yet again that the company will do what it wants with your employment. You are headcount. Knowing that it isn’t personal but structural is useful, as it can head off resentment.
The opportunity now is time. You can build your life on the outside or take one tiny step toward what you’ll do next. Even if you have no idea, everything you try will tell you something. The next round of layoffs may come for you, so use this time as if it will.
Being in survival mode can be an energy drain. This is the time to take care of yourself. If you notice that low-grade anxiety settling on to your days at work, remember that a way to combat that feeling is to take actions that you can control, and that is what you might do next.
How to Use the Time After a Layoff
What if you could start divesting from the idea that a career is one job at one company that swallows all of your waking hours?
The next phase of your life might look more like a portfolio career: a side project, consulting work, and a volunteer job. It could start by getting back in touch with someone who left your company two years ago, or you rekindling an old hobby.
One of my friends worked in a grocery store flower department for the minimum number of hours needed to get healthcare, spent about 10 hours a week on content management contracts, and she walked dogs. That combo was intentional: she wanted to nurture her creativity and get herself moving. Over time, the ratios changed and she leaned into where she was the happiest. Now she spends most of her week caring for dogs.
The energy you’re currently pouring into bitterness or survivor guilt can be redirected bit by bit. If you could design your week the way you wanted, what would it look like? Maybe your brain and body would much prefer a work day to start at noon, or you want to build around a fitness class you love. You don’t have to know all the answers right now, just start sketching it out.
What Would You Do With This Window?
Your name didn’t get called in this round of layoffs. It isn’t a commentary on the value you bring to the company, nor is it a guarantee of job security. It’s time that you can use to build the next thing. So: What would you do with this window if you knew it was closing?
Burn the map. Build what fits.
