Happy Summer! While I’m out having fun (and chasing my goals) in the summer heat, I am only publishing new blogs every 2 weeks.
But there’s no need to be sad because I am re-sharing this post from 2023 following the theme of layoffs from last week’s Interview with a Goal-Crusher.
Enjoy this Best Of Operation Melt blog, and stay tuned for a thrilling new post coming your way next week.
Coach Tony: The company where I work has hired an external firm to complete an organizational assessment to reduce cost and improve efficiency. I suspect a round of layoffs / downsizing will follow in the near future. While I don’t know if I will be on the RIF list, it certainly is possible. I have never been laid off in my career; what should I do if I am impacted?
My condolences and congratulations if a layoff does impact you. I know first-hand that it is an emotional, potentially embarrassing and inconvenient disruption to your life. I said “congratulations” because I know first-hand that it can be a positive, life-changing experience. Nearly everyone I know who has been laid off ended up in a better place after it happened.
Before going any further, I want to address the “embarrassing” emotion I mentioned above. Yes, you will likely feel this emotion. When you do, remind yourself of two critical facts:
- Hundreds of thousands (or more) of people have experienced or will experience a layoff in their lives. I have personally been laid off from two jobs in my career, and both yielded positive results.
- A layoff isn’t about you; you did nothing wrong. A layoff is about numbers and is never the first choice for any company. It sucks for sure, but it is out of your control.
While getting laid off is out of your control, the actions you take when it happens are entirely within your control. With a few simple steps, you can quickly move past this disruption and into the next chapter of your life.
BEWARE! The first step you take after your layoff may not be what you would expect. Your first step does NOT include looking for a new job!
If you immediately jump into searching for a new job, you will do yourself a massive disservice. You cannot be your most authentic, best, actual self unless you first address a few of your foundational needs.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
To explain these post-layoff needs, let’s start by looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, depicted below.
Rather than explaining this hierarchy myself, I found an excellent summary on WebMD.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology that explains the five different levels of human needs. This theory created by Abraham Maslow is based on how humans are inspired to satisfy their needs in a hierarchical order. Starting from the bottom going upwards, the five needs are physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
The hierarchy goes from the most basic to the most advanced needs. The ultimate goal is to reach the highest level of the hierarchy, which is self-actualization.
Layoff Hierarchy of Needs
The Hierarchy of Needs concept can be extended to other areas of our lives, such as navigating a layoff, should it become necessary.
Like Maslow’s original hierarchy, your post-layoff needs start with Physiological needs. Failing to care for your body and health after a layoff is like running a marathon with a boulder tied to your leg. It complicates your efforts and slows you down. This means that your post-layoff priority is to eat well, sleep well, exercise, drink plenty of water, be responsible with alcohol and find quiet time (such as meditation) to give your mind a break. You can’t pour water from an empty bucket, so keep yourself full.
The next layer of the hierarchy is your Safety needs. After a layoff, these needs include taking care of your paperwork (especially any severance agreements), taking stock of your finances (including creating a plan to keep yourself secure during the transition) and registering/applying for any resources that are available to you such as employer-provided job transition assistance and unemployment. The layoff has already disrupted your life, and your goal is to minimize the impact.
As we move up the pyramid, the next layer is your Belonging/Love needs. In your new, post-layoff world, these include reaching out to your support network. Connect with your partner, friends and family, you need their love and support, and they want to support you. You are NOT being a bother to them! Another oft-forgotten portion of this layer is your peer group – your former coworkers and teammates. Go to happy hours and coffees with them, celebrate what was, cheer for what will be and achieve closure.
Once the lower levels of your hierarchy have been addressed, you can set your sights on your Esteem needs. Your priority with these needs is to keep yourself positive and the self-critic monster at bay – he/she is lurking just around the corner. Two useful exercises can help you tend to your needs in this category: highlight reel, three things.
Highlight Reel: For the highlight reel exercise, you will spend some time reflecting on your tenure with your now-former company. You undoubtedly made significant contributions and scored numerous big wins – these are your highlights. When your self-critic monster shows him/herself, you may forget these and convince yourself that you wasted the time you spent in that job. You did not. Once you have identified your highlights with your previous company, write them down. All of them. If in doubt of whether it is a highlight, assume it is. This is not a time for humility; this is a time to boost your self-esteem.
Three Things: For the three things exercise, you will answer one simple question. On your dark days, when things aren’t going well, and you are encountering obstacles, what are three things you would want your BFF to tell you? Once you have determined your three things, write them on a notecard and hang them beside your bathroom mirror. Start each morning by reading your three things aloud to yourself. Also, when dark moments or days happen (between jobs or beyond), sneak away for a private moment and repeat the process. This is a time when you need to be your own best friend and not your worst critic, and this exercise will help.
Finally, at the top of the pyramid is Self-Actualization. Once you have tended to all the other layers, you will have removed the obstacles preventing you from being your best self. Once you are at this layer, you can update your resume and LinkedIn profile and determine what the next exciting chapter of your life will include. Then, go get it! You’ve got this!
I also want to share one final post-layoff suggestion, one that may be a bit counterintuitive. You may think this is a time to avoid all discretionary spending. That’s not necessarily a bad plan. However, some expenses are actually investments in your future and help you move through this disruption more quickly and smoothly.
Engaging the services of a coach, even if just one or two sessions, can be one of the best investments during this time. A coach can help you tend to your hierarchy and keep your self-critic monster locked away. If you are ready to respond to your layoff or to proactively create a plan in case one happens, I am here to help.
If you want to learn more about how coaching could help you, please reach out and we can schedule a chat. I’d be honored to help you!
I believe in you; let me help YOU believe in you!
Meet Coach Tony
My name is Coach Tony, and I am a coach, author and project manager on a mission. I am working to build a world where no goal ever dies of loneliness.
I almost allowed one of my biggest life goals to die without ever being attempted for forty years. My goal almost died, not of failure but of loneliness. But, I took a risk and leveraged a simple, logical process that helped me wildly exceed my goal.
I transformed my life, and you can do the same with the help of Operation Melt.
Operation Melt provides engaging, practical content and hands-on coaching to inspire, motivate and equip project managers and other left-brained high-achievers to pursue and accomplish their biggest goals.
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