“I'm About To Be Laid Off. Should I Keep Working Long Hours?”
Plus: How To Quiet Quit When You’re a People Pleaser
Worried about getting laid off? You’re in good company. Last month saw the second-highest number of layoffs since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Employers have announced 536,421 job cuts for 2024 so far.
For some of these laid-off employees, job loss came as a surprise. Others knew in advance, either because their employer was large enough to be legally required to give advance notice or because the office rumor mill gave them a heads-up.
Knowing ahead of time has obvious advantages, not least of which is getting a head start on your job hunt. However, it also comes with some tricky questions. For example, exactly how hard are you supposed to work at a job that might be going away in a couple of weeks?
Recently, a reader on the cusp of a layoff contacted us on LinkedIn to ask about this problem:
“I suspect that I will be part of layoffs at my company, which will be happening between now and October. So, should I continue to put in long hours?”
Here’s our response:
The most important thing right now is to make sure that you focus on yourself and your career, not your supposed obligations to a company that can and will lay you off whenever it serves their needs. That means putting less energy into this job and more energy into finding your next position.
The term “quiet quitting,” which is basically another way of saying “doing your job but nothing extra,” had a brief period of popularity during the Great Resignation. It’s faded from the headlines as layoffs surged and fewer people found themselves in a position to risk losing their jobs. However, it may be a useful expression for what you need to do right now: meet your responsibilities to your employer but resist the urge to put in extra work.
Quiet Quit–But Very Quietly
Obviously, if you opt to invest less in your current role, you need to make sure that your boss doesn’t notice. The last thing you want is to get fired for cause, which would likely make you ineligible to collect unemployment.
As much as possible, you want to make sure they don't notice you putting in the minimum. That might mean "working from home," if you can, and staying online while you reach out to your network (on your own computer and Wifi so that your boss doesn’t find out).
Keep in mind that most U.S. workers are employed at will, which means that their employer can fire them at any time for almost any reason, as long as it isn’t discriminatory. (And “discriminatory” is narrowly defined under federal law. Unless your employer terminates your employment based on protected characteristics related to sex, race, ethnicity, age over 40, etc., there’s almost no chance of proving discrimination.)
What To Do While You’re Waiting for a Layoff
Job searching can take months, especially in the current economy, and you’ll want to make the most of the lead time you have right now. Use these weeks of employment to get set up for a successful job search:
Read your old performance reviews: Look for times you exceeded your goals or were applauded for your work. Write down these wins, quantifying your successes in dollars, percentages, and other easily understandable metrics.
Update your resume: Add your most recent roles, job experience, and achievements.
Polish your social media presence: Don’t put up any “open to work” banners on LinkedIn or other accounts, but do make sure that your profiles are professional, consistent, and up to date.
Reach out to your network: Contact former colleagues and other contacts to let them know that you’re looking for your next opportunity. Be selective: don’t share this information with anyone at your current employer. Most people are bad at keeping secrets, even if their intentions are good.
Start cleaning out your computer and desk: Again, discretion is key. However, you’ll want to make sure that you have your most important materials with you if your company pulls the plug sooner than you’re expecting.
How To Quiet Quit When You’re a People-Pleaser
For many of us, the idea of doing less than our absolute best at work is fundamentally horrifying. We might be Type A folks who feel the need to put everything into anything we do. Or we might be people pleasers who can’t stand the idea of anyone being mad at us, ever.
If you fall into one of these categories, the first thing to do is to remember your goal: taking care of yourself, your career, and the people who depend on you. You’ll notice that your current employer isn’t on that list. Frankly, if they want that kind of loyalty from you, they can start offering pensions and keeping employees on for decades, as companies did in the olden days. If they’re not willing to do that, they have no right to expect your loyalty.
For people pleasers, especially, it may be helpful to focus on the people you really want and need to please. In the long term, that’s not your boss or the board or the major stockholders. It’s yourself and your family.
Our Favorite Tools & Tips
Free Amazon Courses: If you’re looking to upgrade your skills, Amazon offers more than 600 free, on-demand cloud computing courses to the public on AWS Skill Builder in up to 14 languages. Learn more on the AWS Training and Certification website.
Teal: Use Teal’s AI Resume Builder to tailor your resume for jobs, the Job Tracker to organize and manage your job search, and the Chrome extension to bookmark open positions from 40 job boards (the basic version is free).
STAR Method Coach: Interviewing is almost always a challenge, even when you’ve done it a lot. STAR Method Coach can help you practice the STAR interview technique, which is one of the best ways to ace an interview. You can try two interview questions (based on your resume, job title, job description, company, or a custom question) for free and sign up for a subscription for unlimited questions. Use code "JOBHOPPER50" for 50% off a subscription. (Note: STAR Method Coach is a sponsor, but editorial recommendations are independent of sponsorship relationships.)
News & Noteworthy
It's Getting Harder to Get Hired: What we've been thinking for quite a while, and what many job seekers are seeing for themselves, is that this job market is becoming more challenging than ever. Workday's Global Workforce Report found that it's an employers' market, with job applications growing four times faster than job openings. The increase in job applications (31%) far outpaces job growth (7%) in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.
Companies Hiring Right Now: If you're one of those job seekers looking for work or considering a switch, here are 42 companies actively hiring for jobs in the top industries from Glassdoor. Also, check out Monster's list of the top 100 employers hiring now and Jobscan's list of companies still hiring.
Bank of America Raises Minimum Wage: Starting in October, Bank of America is increasing the pay of its bank tellers and other hourly workers to at least $24 per hour. The company reports that the pay raise will impact thousands of its 212,000 workers, but even with the raise pay won’t come close to the average Bank of America salary ($124,000 in 2023).
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