Dave Dodson: I'm not buying into tech layoffs being a result of recession worries
Stanford Business School's Dave Dodson joins 'Your World with Neil Cavuto' to discuss layoffs this year by Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.
Combine the personal sharing on social media sites that's so common today with a flurry of company cutbacks and restructuring in recent times — and people are increasingly pouring out their hearts and souls to their followers and many others on LinkedIn and other sites about the sudden layoffs they're experiencing.
"I don't think I have the heart to write this yet," said one individual recently, who shared that she'd just lost her job.
"Yesterday was my last day at Spotify," she wrote on LinkedIn. "It feels like a bad dream I should wake up from. I kept waiting for an email saying there has been a mistake."
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She added to her followers, "Nonetheless, life goes on and time is running out for me since I have 60 days to land a new role to stay in the U.S. and to hold my visa status."
She continued, "If you know of anyone looking for data engineering [or] software engineering roles, please refer my name."
One person just laid off from her job shared with others online recently, "As the saying goes, the only way is through — and I will get through this stronger and more resilient. Looking forward to my next adventure." (Getty)
She went on to note that she'd spent a year-and-a-half at the company and "I am incredibly grateful" that her firm "took a chance on me. I had the pleasure to work with some talented folks who have been nothing but kind to me in my learning process."
She finished with, "As the saying goes, the only way is through — and I will get through this stronger and more resilient. Looking forward to my next adventure."
"What do you need to be a strong candidate? Research that."
LinkedIn itself offers job tips for those looking for new positions.
"While tech companies have — and continue to — shed jobs in numbers not seen since the dot-com crash," an editor on LinkedIn wrote on Sunday morning, "layoffs are beginning to seep into other industries."
The editor added in the post, "Yet the labor market remains strong, with more than 10.5 million open jobs and unemployment at 3.5%. The LinkedIn News team continues to follow developments, with the latest job cuts below."
The platform shared a long list of companies that have been shedding workers lately — Quora, Goodyear, Hasbro, Plus One Robotics, Shutterfly, 3M, Adweek and many others.
"When a layoff occurs, you as the employee must first recognize it is not likely [about] you… but rather a complicated financial issue your employer could not resolve a gentler way," one person shared on LinkedIn. (iStock)
The post goes on, "If you’ve been impacted by a layoff, find our best tips here."
Among those best tips, wrote the team: "1. Pause and feel your feelings; 2. Deeply think, ‘Where do I go from here?’; 3. What do you need to be a strong candidate? Research that."
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Many others on LinkedIn then chimed in with their own advice.
‘A learning moment’
One individual shared his own helpful tips for others.
"When a layoff occurs, you as the employee must first recognize it is not likely [about] you as an employee but rather a complicated financial issue your employer could not resolve a gentler way. You are still the person they trusted enough to hire," said the individual, who described himself on LinkedIn as an industrial engine mechanic.
"Was the previous job not a good fit for your interests?"
He added, "Did you gain — in the time you were employed — better skills and knowledge you can now use in another employment situation? If you can't answer yes to this, then ask yourself why? Should this be a learning moment for you on the next job? Was the previous job not a good fit for your interests?"
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He also noted, "Lastly, remember you don't get a job you didn't apply for!"
"Instead of a flood of people posting their [job] accomplishments, there was an avalanche of people openly writing that they'd been part of mass job layoffs," said one mental health expert of what she began to see on LinkedIn beginning late last summer and early fall. (iStock)
He wrote, "Yes, you may get rejected by a great many who simply read your application as wasted time — but to some employers, your willingness to submit one may show initiative on your part to go somewhere."
Mental health experts weigh in
A job loss is a blow — and support and understanding are key, mental health experts shared with Fox News Digital.
"I started noticing something happening on LinkedIn late last summer and early fall," Amy Keller Laird, the New York-based founder of Mental, a platform about mental health issues, told Fox News Digital recently.
"Layoffs are always tough, with research showing that being unemployed can increase your risk of depression."
"Instead of a flood of people posting their [job] accomplishments, there was an avalanche of people openly writing that they'd been part of mass job layoffs."
She added, "This struck me because, in the past, people didn't typically share this kind of information publicly for fear that companies wouldn't want to hire them or that they'd somehow 'look bad.'"
Keller Laird added, "But the response was pretty incredible: Others amplified their posts by tagging hiring managers and commented from a real place of compassion, either sharing in the difficult situation or offering words of support."
She also noted that "layoffs are always tough, with research showing that being unemployed can increase your risk of depression."
Also, said Keller Laird, "it seems that, with a lot of these mass corporate layoffs, because they're digital, people are being cut off immediately [from their devices or other work platforms] or at the end of the day, rather than getting a couple of days to process [the news] and tie up loose ends."
"In one minute, you're part of a team — the next, your access to Slack and email is removed. It's like you've been digitally erased from your workplace." (iStock)
She said, "In one minute, you're part of a team — the next, your access to Slack and email is removed. It's like you've been digitally erased from your workplace."
She added the following tips for anyone who has suffered a sudden layoff or who knows others who are in this situation.
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"To combat the loneliness and feelings of isolation from this situation, experts talk about what I call a series of S's," said Keller Laird.
Use "self-compassion, by treating yourself gently, allowing yourself some rest and realizing you're not alone and there's no shame in what's happened."
First, she said, "stay connected, to friends, family and your work network."
Second, she said, use "self-compassion, by treating yourself gently, allowing yourself some rest and realizing you're not alone and there's no shame in what's happened."
And third, she said, find new "structure, by lining up a to-do list for your days, which can include small steps like reaching out to two people in your network every few days or scheduling 30 minutes for running or your favorite podcast."
"The best thing you can do is to start to educate yourself on the steps you need to take to feel empowered again, so you can get on track to finding a new, better job," said one recruiting expert. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Keller Laird also told Fox News Digital this week, "As these layoffs are becoming commonplace, we should remember that they're teaching us a lesson."
She added, "It's not about us in particular. It's part of the economic situation we find ourselves in."
She also said, "There's a school of thought that layoffs don't even rightsize things — that layoffs happen as a fault of overall business strategy, but they don't fix it. Again, a reason to remember: This isn't about you."
"The best thing to do is to decide ahead of time what your goal of the conversation is."
She noted that "the more these layoffs occur, the smarter the potential employee pool becomes and the savvier they are as to the questions they'll ask in their next interviews. And this is a good thing."
Meantime, layoffs continue — as do posts about them on LinkedIn and other social platforms.
Writing in The Harvard Business Review recently, Atlanta-based psychologist Jackie Coleman — in an article entitled, "How to Talk to Your Kids About Layoffs" — shared, "You’ll need to tell your family that you’ve lost your job, and probably pretty quickly."
She added, "Your emotions are likely raw, and you probably will still feel very worried about what’s taking place. This is an exceedingly difficult time to talk about what’s happened because the conversation can quickly veer in a direction you weren’t intending."
If you've been laid off, said one psychologist, "your emotions are likely raw, and you probably will still feel very worried about what’s taking place." (iStock)
She wrote, "This is especially true when kids throw curveball statements you don’t expect or ask a question you can’t answer."
So — "the best thing to do is to decide ahead of time what your goal of the conversation is, what you are willing to share, and also what would be better left unsaid. (You and your partner might game this out together.)"
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She noted, "For example, while you might have real concerns about making your mortgage payments, there is no reason to bring up the possibility of having to sell the house if that is not a present reality. Think about what would be beneficial to tell the family without causing them unnecessary stress."
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And J.T. O'Donnell, a former recruiting executive and the Boston-based founder and CEO of Work It Daily, wrote on LinkedIn, "After you've taken in the situation and had a moment to grieve the unexpected loss, the BEST thing you can do is to start to educate yourself on the steps you need to take to feel empowered again, so you can get on track to finding a new, better job."
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