How to Notify That You Are About to Be Fired
I was talking to a friend from corporate life last night about upcoming layoffs at the tech company she works for. She’s been through the spin before, so it doesn’t matter to her, but her co-workers are a different story. They are mostly younger – some getting their first real job – and seem oblivious to the warning signs of imminent “corporate restructuring” even when they are looked at in the face.
Periodic layoffs are as much a part of corporate life as coffee pods and surly IT departments. No matter what an armchair drone does, at some point in its career it will most likely find itself on the block, perhaps more than once. There is probably nothing you can do to prevent being fired, but you can usually see signs that it will happen.
The big economy is starting to look shaky
Unemployment is currently hovering at a historically low 3.6%, but other economic indicators, from the stock market to inflation, are less encouraging. Whether the current economic uncertainty will eventually lead to a protracted recession and massive layoffs remains to be seen, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone if it does. So in a sense, we all need to be ready.
Your company is losing money
Your employer is losing money or (cannot make as much money as it once was) is a strong sign that layoffs are possible. But this is not a clear sign: some firms lay off employees even when they make a lot of money, and some leave people while they lose money. Still, it’s a strong early warning of future layoffs.
Top management people are leaving
The people at the top of your company have a much clearer idea of what is likely to happen to your company than you do, so if your boss’s boss and his colleagues start jumping ship, it’s a sign that lower-level employees are better off being on guard. .
Your company is hiring consultants
In the corporate satire Office Space, layoffs at Initech were foreshadowed by “The Beans”, a pair of consultants brought in to ask employees, “What exactly are you doing here?” This is a realistic scenario. This isn’t to say that the arrival of consultants always results in layoffs—there are plenty of reasons why a company might bring in outside consultants—but a visit from your personal Bobs should at least make you prick up your ears.
Things start to feel “wrong”
It’s hard to define, but when companies approach layoffs, there’s often a vague tension in the air. Your manager may find out that he will have to choose half of his employees to fire them in a month, so they will be in a shitty or dizzy mood, depending on their personality. In any case, everything will be strange, even if the boss (and his assistant) keep it a secret. They will avoid eye contact, call meetings less frequently, speak to people more formally, etc. All of these could be signs of being fired—or you could be paranoid. Treat this as a single point of evidence, not hard evidence.
People use the words “restructuring” or mention “spending cuts”.
These terms may come up in general conversations or emails in the weeks or months before the termination. If you start to hear them a lot in your office, mentally translate these terms into “layoffs.” Chances are good that the money saved by “cutting costs” does not come from the CEO’s annual bonus, and that “restructuring” does not mean giving everyone a helper to reduce their workload.
Long-term plans are discussed less and less
If you notice a lack of official project discussions that will last into the next fiscal quarter or beyond, you should update your LinkedIn. Your bosses will probably know about layoffs long before you do, and they’re much more likely to cancel meetings than they are to hold them with people who aren’t around.
You are asked to define your role
Whether it’s the aforementioned external consultants or someone in Human Resources, if you’re suddenly asked to define your role in the company or document what you do on a day-to-day basis, it could be because you have a HR plan in place. company without your presence.
There are layoffs in other departments
Large companies are especially prone to firing employees in waves rather than bringing the hatchet down on everyone at once. So if one Friday half of the accounts payable goes away with cardboard boxes, it will probably spread to other departments soon, especially if no one is willing to explain what’s going on. Be especially careful at the end of the fiscal quarter when most layoffs occur.
All meeting rooms booked for Friday
If some of these other signs have already happened and HR has all the conference rooms booked on Friday afternoon, be prepared. It happens.
You receive an official notice
In some states, companies are required by law to give employees advance notice in writing if layoffs are imminent—for example, California’s WARN law requires 60 days’ notice under certain conditions. If this ever happens to you, pack your figurines: you’ll definitely get fired. Whether they expect you to stay for those 60 days depends, but if you do, keep dining. What are they going to do, fire you?
How to survive an upcoming layoff
If you think you see a firing ship in the distance, sailing ominously towards your department, act professionally. Be realistic and don’t panic: layoffs aren’t fun, but they aren’t the end of the world either. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not your fault. Cutting costs by laying off employees is a decision that is usually made impartially by people who have never met you. Whether you get fired or spared will most likely have more to do with your role in the company or your salary than your performance as an employee. So don’t beg and don’t despair. Fix your resume, figure out what your severance pay will be, learn how to collect unemployment benefits, and wait to see if you’re really one of those unfortunate ones. You can get through this and live to see the next round of layoffs. If not, look at this as an opportunity to get unemployment for a few months, meditate and play video games in your underwear until you start frantically looking for a new job.