Enigmatic Horizon Staff
The advent of 2023 marked massive layoffs by technology companies, which are affecting thousands of workers. Many big tech giants, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Zoom, IBM, Tesla, Meta, etc., went on this sporadic turn, shedding their employees with the fear of a worldwide recession in the upcoming days. It all started around the pandemic phase, which resulted in enormous growth and sales for top tech, when billions of the world’s population were stuck at home. Hence, the consumers had to rely on delivery services like e-commerce and virtual forms of meet-ups through social media and video conferencing. When the lockdown sparked, the tech firms hired many employees to support remote work, but e-commerce operations are now facing huge revenue declines. Even the smaller tech firms got caught up in the pandemic-generated hypergrowth and are now suffering the consequences. Along with it, the rising supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine have also affected both business and consumer spending worldwide, alarming the fears of an upcoming recession.
Over time, it has become clear that recent layoffs have had a very bad effect on employees. Layoffs lower the chances of getting re-employed because employees face the emotional turmoil of losing their previous jobs, which hampers their reputation, social status, and productivity, particularly if they are experienced individuals. Another aspect is that the loss of income results in lower spending capacity. Those employees who get relocated or manage to get a job may have to operate with lower standards of payment or with a smaller workforce. This, in turn, leads to physical problems or self-destructive behavior, mental stress, depression, and psychological effects like losing motivation, self-esteem, and acceptance of oneself. The transition not only delays a person’s holistic development but also causes a rejection of the acquired abilities. It hurts an employee’s health and morale, as well as their ability to work together, come up with new ideas, and be creative at work. It also hurts the quality of their work.
Such negative impact not only affects the laid-off employees but also creates a buzz among the competing companies and organizations that downsize due to financial losses. As downsizing of employees is a constant process for big tech companies that face adequate losses in terms of innovation and technology upgradation, there are a few takeaways that can be boons for the exiting employees to turn the transition into a positive direction:
Sharing your stories: Those employees who fall under the circle of layoffs often need someone to reach out to. So sharing stories of experiences, fate, and setting up for a new life adventure gives a ray of hope to many people with similar experiences of job loss. Motivating each other gets you going!
Upscaling oneself: Job loss is a potential threat for any employee. But this doesn’t deny the accomplishments, rewards, and recognition that an individual has received during his or her tenure. So before beginning a new job hunt, an employee must try to analyze himself or herself and upscale their technical expertise for better challenges and workplace opportunities.
Understand your potential to get better: Many employees go through deep-rooted turmoil after losing a job or place of comfort. So before making a progression or switching to new horizons, an employee should make a to-do list of giving at least 10 to 15 days of filling up the gaps and self-healing by indulging in any sport, meditation, or exercise to lift up the spirits and start the next innings with a positive zeal and energy.
Networking: Another important component of self-motivation is networking. Networking opens the door to positive communication. For those who prefer socializing, one can catch up with a former acquaintance or a social contact to discuss emerging opportunities and gather positive feedback, visible engagements, and a potential outlook on newer avenues. Networking creates an equitable balance of performance and productivity, which is the need of the hour in the changing work environment. Hence, it can be summed up that imbibing some of these positive changes in everyday life can help an employee maintain consistency and stay relevant in the hope of better employment opportunities in the near future.
