{"id":14032,"date":"2017-06-27T18:48:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T13:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/?p=14032"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:56:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:26:50","slug":"what-to-say-to-someone-who-was-laid-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/what-to-say-to-someone-who-was-laid-off.html","title":{"rendered":"What To Say To Someone Who Has Been Laid Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re not sure about what to say to someone who recently got laid off, even if it\u2019s a loved one, you\u2019re not alone. It\u2019s a very sensitive subject. <\/span><\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t any way to avoid the conversation being a little uncomfortable. Keep in mind that your loved one is affected more substantially by being the person who was laid off, and thus is more sensitive to the topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of talking about their layoff is to understand their situation and to find out how you can help. Ask what kind of support would be most helpful to your loved one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking back to my own experience, here are a few things that can be kept in mind:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Remind them of famous success stories<\/b><\/h3>\n

People need time to get used to the concept of moving on. When you\u2019re let go, you suddenly no longer belong, you\u2019re no longer part of a team, and you no longer have a place to go from Monday through Friday. Replacing this comfortable routine with suggestions of the unknown doesn\u2019t really help.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Steve<\/a>
Image Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It gives them a bit of perspective, helping them realize that they\u2019re not to blame for the layoff\u2014and that this, too, shall pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Sometimes, you don\u2019t have to say anything<\/b><\/h3>\n

No matter the individual or the circumstances, being let go from a job stings. Feelings and emotions closely align with the well-known five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In addition, financial worries, societal standings, and self-worth are often negatively impacted.<\/span><\/p>\n

During such times, your co-worker, your friend, or your family member, just needs you to be there but they don\u2019t necessarily need you to say anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Silence\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, stick around, and if you aren\u2019t sure about what to say, just say nothing. What this person really needs is to talk it out and for you to listen with both ears. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, they will need your help with ideas, but other times, they will just be glad that someone is talking through the plan with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Encourage them<\/b><\/h3>\n

The goal is to make it through the layoff and adjust to a new life. The details are for them to work out. If you advocate too strongly for a specific way of doing things, you can make one feel like they\u2019re failing if they do things differently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being laid off can make a person feel as if they\u2019re not valued by their former employer. Give them encouragement and compliment them for the things that they do well. This confidence will help them transition into a new happy career.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is a part of \u00a0#Fired2FiredUp Campaign by YourDOST.\u00a0Visit the page<\/a>\u00a0for real life stories, learnings and tips from\u00a0career psychologists and recruiters.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Have you experienced a layoff recently? Are\u00a0you finding it difficult to cope with it?\u00a0Talk to an Expert<\/a>\u00a0at YourDOST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re not sure about what to say to someone who recently got laid off, even if it\u2019s a loved one, you\u2019re not alone. It\u2019s a very sensitive subject. There isn\u2019t any way to avoid the conversation being a little uncomfortable. Keep in mind that your loved one is affected more substantially by being the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,107,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-job-loss","category-work-careers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35513,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14032\/revisions\/35513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}