Several tech giants have announced significant layoffs this year, causing anxiety to spread across laptop screens. According to Layoffs.fyi, roughly 160,000 workers were let go by more than 1,000 tech companies last year. Even the largest organizations have discovered unique ways to create further turmoil. Read more to learn more details of the latest tech layoffs, ways to minimize uncertainty, and the possible bright future.
Since the beginning of 2023, over 70,000 tech professionals have been laid off by 185 organizations. Layoffs are one of life’s most difficult occurrences, leading to more psychological stress than divorce. Layoffs in the remote work environment have frequently been unsettling due to company errors that create anxiety. Losing a job may drastically alter a person’s financial situation and sense of self.
How Layoffs Cause Uncertainty: Impacting Mental Health
Layoffs can have adverse, long-term effects on employees’ mental and emotional health, including high stress and poor self-esteem. Furthermore, the longer someone is unemployed, the worse it becomes. As their confidence deteriorates, they become discouraged and fearful, which can negatively impact their future job opportunities. Financial concerns are another issue, as white-collar professionals earning $100k or more are additionally likely to live paycheck to paycheck more than ever.
Google’s recent dismissal of 12,000 tech professionals via email has formed an environment of anxiety and uncertainty in companies. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has mostly let go of managers as there seems to be too much management of other managers within the giant social platform.
According to a survey performed by Korn Ferry, almost 90% of professionals report tolerating burnout, with better than 81% saying they feel additional burnout currently than during the shutdown.
The Workforce Institute at UKG interviewed 3,400 individuals across ten nations and uncovered that 43% of workers conveyed being chronically fatigued, with everyday stress affecting their work-life balance.
Several surveys indicate that people are actively seeking new job opportunities to hedge their bets due to economic and security concerns. The shift from a stable economy before the pandemic and sudden growth in 2021 leading to a slump in late 2022 has left people feeling vulnerable.
6 Ways to Fight the Uncertainty
Highly engaged employees create a mutually beneficial situation for the employees and the company’s bottom line. Here are six simple methods to fight workplace mistrust during difficult times:
- Set Straightforward Expectations: Team leaders must set transparent expectations regarding performance and duties. Employees should know their expectations, their benchmarks, and how to seek help or training when needed.
- Help Employees Evolve Skill Sets to Prosper: In today’s ever-changing atmosphere, it is crucial to adapt as business conditions transform. It is vital to develop distinctive training programs to teach employees to work with others, move fast, and think independently. As a leader, it is your responsibility to help employees acquire these skills and perspectives.
- Make Time to Meet 1-on-1 with Employees: Creating a relationship with each employee and holding genuine communication is fundamental to a successful workplace. Regularly meeting with employees individually and focusing on engagement helps you learn what’s going on in their lives and how to support them to succeed.
- Be Sincere: Being honest and open with employees is critical. Regularly update your teams on company performance and provide details about how particular decisions will affect everyone involved. When communicating company announcements, a newsletter is a useful practice, and a face-to-face video call is best when delivering positive or not-so-good news affecting a single individual.
- Provide Opportunities for Independence: Giving employees control over simple assignments can help increase their confidence. Encouraging employees to have healthy habits like eating well, getting plenty of sleep, exercising, and offering work-life balance can translate to more dedication and production.
- Build Trust: Trust is the basis of all prosperous relationships. It is tough to earn, but consistency and reliability in actions, words, and promises can build trust. By being open and fair with others, trust can be built.
Employees must demonstrate their value to management to avoid being laid off, even if they feel betrayed and have lost trust in their business leaders. This can be difficult, however, as burnout rates are high, and people are worried they could be laid off at any moment. Coasting at work to focus on emotional well-being can make a person a prime target for future layoffs, as managers can recognize who the hard workers are and who the cyber coasters and slackers are.
Globally, frequent layoffs can negatively affect workers’ mental and emotional health, and the current economic conditions have exacerbated these issues. Individuals must prioritize their mental well-being while demonstrating their value to management to avoid being laid off.
The Bright Side
The current job market in the US has been relatively stable, with an unemployment rate of 3.5-3.7% since March, indicating a tough economy. However, the newsmaking layoffs have been making headlines, leaving people wondering what is happening.
Layoffs are linked to several factors, including finance companies pulling back due to economic uncertainty, some tech companies being unable to depend on explosive growth, and companies that made miscalculations on their plans to stay financially afloat. Suppose there is an economic recession on the near-term horizon. It will be detrimental to workers across the board, with blue-collar workers in areas such as construction, retail, leisure, and hospitality likely being the most brutal hit.
Despite the labor market’s strength, many people are experiencing economic difficulties, with inflation taking a real bite out of paychecks. The stock market is dreadful, bonds could be better, and crypto is a disaster, making investing challenging. In addition, the housing market is in trouble. Even higher-income individuals feel the pinch as their wages have not kept up with inflation, and prices are rising, making it harder for them to afford even extra expenses. There is a feeling that something worse might be on the horizon, leading to recession fears.
While higher-educated workers may not be in the worst situation in the job market, they don’t have as many choices as they would like. Conversely, the economy has been better for lower-wage and less educated workers, with increased wages due to their ability to hop jobs more frequently. Suppose there is an economic recession on the near-term horizon. It will be detrimental to workers across the board, with blue-collar workers in areas such as construction, retail, leisure, and hospitality likely being the most brutal hit.
The possibility of a recession has everyone on edge. If and when the next downturn comes, it will not be fun for anyone. While white-collar layoffs at some big-name companies are not as bad as some portray, they might have real risks, and their effects will stretch far beyond individual organizations.
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