How to Cope with Layoffs as a Team

As much as change is in evidence in today’s world, it is what keeps us going. With the onset of COVID-19, the professional world has been experiencing a blow that has been impacting all professionals. One of the biggest fears is the projected recession and fear of layoffs.  Layoffs not only bring the fear of you losing your job, but it is equally difficult to see your colleagues go. The burnout caused due to the anxiety of not having the job can be immense, which can hamper the team's productivity. Layoffs can occur in three stages, which can not only affect the individual employees but also the organization as a whole due to the dynamic situation. Let’s talk about how we can better handle this to avoid the oncoming stress of layoffs!

Predicting a Layoff

Working in a team can only be optimally successful when all members have open communication with their colleagues. Predicting a layoff can have the biggest impact on the mental wellness of employees due to the overbearing stress of being unemployed in a bad job market. On several occasions, these predictions are just a result of rumors or general fear generated by different fragments of information doing rounds.

In a team, a supervisor's first step would be to communicate with the team, telling them what the truth is. Hiding information or falsifying the truth will not only generate a greater negative impact but also affect the relationship between the company and the employees who stay on. Similarly, companies are, on several occasions, forced to let employees go due to the economic market and its effect on business. Concern towards the employees can only be communicated by the company's willingness to looking out for their wellness.

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During a Layoff

Companies tend to let go of their employees in different ways, but communicating it to the team first would be the ideal situation. Teams should be aware of whether they are at the risk of being laid off. As a team, the foremost need of the hour is to display peer-to-peer empathy and look out for their wellbeing. Colleagues can serve as massive support in difficult times, and teams that work together serve as a family within the professional space. It is always easiest for people who have been in that place to understand what one goes through in these situations, so looking out for those being laid off should be a priority.

Team members who witness the layoffs can experience much emotional trauma, concern for their future, and concern for their colleagues who left. Simultaneously, they carry on with their daily work routine in a different work environment within their homes. At this time, it is essential to provide details, or else, assumptions will rise. Just as much communication with the supervisor is critical, co-workers who still work with you can be an immense pillar. They understand your situation, trauma, and fear the most, and only they can get you through the situation. And if you aren’t the one being laid off, it’s so important that you stay empathetic and understand the difficulties of their situation.

After a Layoff

While having survived the layoff, the uncertainty does not decline. Irrespective of your position in the company, the fear lingers. If you survived it, although you have lesser things to worry about, the trauma of the experience remains. Witnessing co-workers pack boxes and leaving the building is unsettling. In this pandemic, this experience is worsened due to the absence of physical proximity. As a result, more than ever, it is essential to build on team resilience. To get back on track, you not only need to delegate work and reorganize priority, and find the motivation to fill the emotional and professional holes previously filled by those colleagues. Distress about the situation takes time, and there will be setbacks in the beginning. But as a team, it is important to set the need of the hour and be available for each other more than ever.

It is essential to accept that getting on track takes time, and each team member should be willing to give that. Rushing into work, responsibilities, and changed team dynamics are not superficial issues that automatically fall into place. They need to be worked on and put thought into. At times like this, empowering the employees and helping them form a team is more important than ever because of the innumerous experiences they have gone through recently. Team meditations or cooperative building exercises can not only help them succeed at the work they do but also navigate the recent change.

Now, when the world is at a standstill and trying to cope with changes, everything seems more difficult. It is imperative to look after our mental health and build on the resources we have. More than our productivity level, we need to work on the state of our mental wellness to move forward this time, healthier.