I'm very sorry and chocked by what happened to you. Being in Europe, it's hard for me to comprehend how this can happen. I have a 3 month notice, so if I want to leave or the company wants to cut me off, I will still have 3 months to put things in order and land on my feet.
It gives me hope to know this! In the U.S., it wouldn't even occur to me to suggest a three-month notice, but I appreciate your example so we know what's possible.
In Australia a permanent worker also has to get notice or be paid in lieu of notice. In some industries they do have a security guard walk terminated workers out so they can’t talk to colleagues. That used to just be for people terminated for a major cause but I’ve heard it happen more generally recently.
I appreciate that financial protection for workers! Being walked out by a security guard, though, yuck. It’s so disrespectful of someone in a moment that’s already horrifying and humiliating.
It isn’t the norm, except in some places where they are scared you’ll take your client list with you, or steal secrets, or upset the other workers by telling them the truth…
Ans early mentor told me to always have the direct contact details of my near colleagues and mentors, and copies of any complimentary words from higher ups or clients, plus examples of my best work. Just in case.
Former newspaper editor here. Obviously I know this routine all too well.
That’s why the layoff scene in The Trailer Park Rules exists. I had another journalist contact me later to say his own layoff scene was very much like that. I hope the revenge speech was, too!
It's so disappointing! Employers seem to believe workers just have to all be willing casualties of this irresponsible industry, and that's so wrong. If you hire someone, you should be responsible with their livelihood!
Genuinely LOLing at this 😆 Communication was a problem at the company from day one, and I had this exact thought every single day. It's just clear in hindsight that the company never had any real concern for employee wellbeing, just the facade of it.
Oh no! I felt mad for you as I read it. It always sucks and it doesn’t have to suck this much! Thank you for sharing both your experience and your recommendations. I hope they are seen by people who can use them to make a hard process better for everyone involved. Thinking of you as you navigate the next steps.
So sorry to hear this. Your experience sounds almost exactly like mine when I was laid off from my media job in July 2024. A mysterious, cryptic meeting invite, a prepared statement, and immediate removal from email, Slack, and other systems. I had time to Slack my boss during the meeting to tell her what was happening; her entire team was laid off, and she had no forewarning! They at least told us we would get severance pay based on tenure and provided next steps and a contact person, so good for them, I guess.
That was my first layoff, and I've been freelancing full-time ever since. I can't see a time I would ever apply for a FT media job again.
I can't believe that about your boss! I've been a manager of an editorial team, and it would be so devastating not to be able to bolster myself to take care of my team through this experience :(
I spent five years self-employed after my first layoff, and it was a tough decision to go back to W-2 work with this company. I stayed cynical and kept things simmering on the side. I'm grateful it's relatively easy to slip into self-employment in the media industry, but I still wish we could count on these companies more.
Dana, thank you for sharing your experience. I've been laid off in the past and it hurts on so many levels. Currently I'm working two part time jobs so I can care for my elderly mother. But part time work does not offer benefits. So if I'm laid off of either job , I'm not even sure I would qualify for unemployment. One job does offer a union but only to full time workers in my position. Also, neither offer me benefits as a part timer so I'm going through the Healthcare Marketplace which is about to increase my premiums enormously. Not sure how I will make this all work. But I really believe, as a nation, we can and should do better by our workers.
We absolutely should do better! This is the kind of thing that can be regulated to prevent companies from skirting obligations to their employees. I'm also frustrated that you're not eligible for the union. I support unions as a stopgap to the level of exploitation we have now, but I'm equally frustrated by the ways they reinforce capitalist hierarchies.
And, FYI, part-time workers ARE usually eligible for unemployment benefits, whether you lose your job completely or have your hours reduced. Specifics are set state-by-state.
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Dana. Thank you for sharing your experience and for offering ways for all of us to do better (both people responsible for laying off employees and employees who might need to organize a union).
I hope this can be helpful for someone! I guess I'm optimistic in believing that maybe leadership just doesn't understand how devastating the experience is, and if they know they might do better?
I'm sorry to hear that! It's happening to so many of us this year. My heart goes out to you and your household; I hope you've landed or will soon land somewhere comfortable.
Thank you for your kindness and compassion. I’m taking this time to learn. I’ve enrolled for a couple classes, so I will be more competitive in the market. There’s ALOT of people looking. Indeed & Linked In show you how many people applied for job postings.It can be dispiriting. My State (NJ) puts alot into their unemployed constituency they helped me get a grant among many other things for the classes. Thankfully, I can manage on the benefit amount I am getting. I’m just doing what I can and keeping the faith. Have you also been laid off?
As 50+ year journalism veteran I feel like I've seen it all. What still sticks in my craw is an experience similar to yours in 2008 when we editors were called in and the 14 weeklies we were in charge of were unceremoniously axed, mid-deadline.
The good news is that it's a field where I'm lucky to have adapted to changes over the years and I'm still cranking out the shit. However, I'm SO glad I'm at the denouement of my career.
That's so frustrating! "Mid-deadline" is key here, for journalists in particular. It's so sad to have to drop a story you were working on — disrespectful of the reporters' time, confusing for sources, a mess for editors. Just all such a dumb way to handle things.
I'm now freelancing for the same group, which has changed hands repeatedly. A group of 30-somethings runs the paper. I was excavating and came across some older editions. The paper now is a shadow of its former self.
It really is! And that spreadsheet status is so by design. One of the saddest things about the experience is that editor who had to deliver us the news. I'm sure she was so far removed from the people who made the decision, and she had to carry the weight of breaking it to us.
Yeah, I've been on both ends of that conversation and feeling like just a cog in the system. There's real trauma that happens for those who get laid off and for those who are left behind with heavier workloads and broken systems, knowing their time will come eventually.
Dana, I read this last week thinking of my own layoff experience in 2023 when the company I worked for closed down. And now I'm thinking of how I was let go VIA TEXT from an hourly job I worked just one shift at two weeks ago. The job with no benefits that I took and I was genuinely excited about! The equine industry is years behind the rest of the world in safe and logical hiring practices. There's only a handful of barns I know of that are even decent places to work (and YMMV). So now I'm out job hunting again and it's The Worst.
HI Dana, I am sorry that this happened to you. I hope you know how you have changed so many people's views of the world of economics. Not all black and white, with the nuanced of humans, as the most important economic actors of this imperfect system. The truth is.... unless we are the owners or shareholders.... we are a line in the balance sheet that has to be optimized and "control". In some ways companies create a "culture" to reduce the impact this has in the workers psyque, and because, "engage" and "satisfied" workers produce more widgets per hour.....but this culture is just one more story human create to make sense of an imperfect economic model that is in essence, extractive....when I feel very down by our imperfect economic system I to the Serviceberry from Robin Wall Kimmerer...it helps me dream, with a less imperfect system. For Christmas this year.... I am gifting your wisdom to my friends. Stay strong!
Same happened to me. I went in at 8 am and by 1 pm I was done. At 61 at the time, not a fun thing to happen. I am currently, 63, finally inching forward, thanks to having some money saved up, I am able to try new things like being my own boss via solopreneurship. Thanks for your pist
I'm so sorry; it's awful that people's life circumstances aren't considered here, too! I saw a layoff at a company where we cut two women who were pregnant. What a blow for their families!
Hi Dana, thank you. Yes, that is awful for the two women and their families. It seems that some companies preach or extol the virtues of being there for you, like a family. Unfortunately, when push comes to shove, profit and not for profit businesses have to follow budgets or be profitable. When a person works for a company, they are not your family or cousin. They may be a distant friend!
I'm very sorry and chocked by what happened to you. Being in Europe, it's hard for me to comprehend how this can happen. I have a 3 month notice, so if I want to leave or the company wants to cut me off, I will still have 3 months to put things in order and land on my feet.
It gives me hope to know this! In the U.S., it wouldn't even occur to me to suggest a three-month notice, but I appreciate your example so we know what's possible.
In Australia a permanent worker also has to get notice or be paid in lieu of notice. In some industries they do have a security guard walk terminated workers out so they can’t talk to colleagues. That used to just be for people terminated for a major cause but I’ve heard it happen more generally recently.
I appreciate that financial protection for workers! Being walked out by a security guard, though, yuck. It’s so disrespectful of someone in a moment that’s already horrifying and humiliating.
It isn’t the norm, except in some places where they are scared you’ll take your client list with you, or steal secrets, or upset the other workers by telling them the truth…
Ans early mentor told me to always have the direct contact details of my near colleagues and mentors, and copies of any complimentary words from higher ups or clients, plus examples of my best work. Just in case.
Former newspaper editor here. Obviously I know this routine all too well.
That’s why the layoff scene in The Trailer Park Rules exists. I had another journalist contact me later to say his own layoff scene was very much like that. I hope the revenge speech was, too!
We are treated like shit.
It's so disappointing! Employers seem to believe workers just have to all be willing casualties of this irresponsible industry, and that's so wrong. If you hire someone, you should be responsible with their livelihood!
I'm very sorry this happened to you. You would think as a media company they would know how to communicate better. I guess not.
Genuinely LOLing at this 😆 Communication was a problem at the company from day one, and I had this exact thought every single day. It's just clear in hindsight that the company never had any real concern for employee wellbeing, just the facade of it.
Oh no! I felt mad for you as I read it. It always sucks and it doesn’t have to suck this much! Thank you for sharing both your experience and your recommendations. I hope they are seen by people who can use them to make a hard process better for everyone involved. Thinking of you as you navigate the next steps.
Thank you! That's my hope 🤞
So sorry to hear this. Your experience sounds almost exactly like mine when I was laid off from my media job in July 2024. A mysterious, cryptic meeting invite, a prepared statement, and immediate removal from email, Slack, and other systems. I had time to Slack my boss during the meeting to tell her what was happening; her entire team was laid off, and she had no forewarning! They at least told us we would get severance pay based on tenure and provided next steps and a contact person, so good for them, I guess.
That was my first layoff, and I've been freelancing full-time ever since. I can't see a time I would ever apply for a FT media job again.
I can't believe that about your boss! I've been a manager of an editorial team, and it would be so devastating not to be able to bolster myself to take care of my team through this experience :(
I spent five years self-employed after my first layoff, and it was a tough decision to go back to W-2 work with this company. I stayed cynical and kept things simmering on the side. I'm grateful it's relatively easy to slip into self-employment in the media industry, but I still wish we could count on these companies more.
Agree 100%!
Dana, thank you for sharing your experience. I've been laid off in the past and it hurts on so many levels. Currently I'm working two part time jobs so I can care for my elderly mother. But part time work does not offer benefits. So if I'm laid off of either job , I'm not even sure I would qualify for unemployment. One job does offer a union but only to full time workers in my position. Also, neither offer me benefits as a part timer so I'm going through the Healthcare Marketplace which is about to increase my premiums enormously. Not sure how I will make this all work. But I really believe, as a nation, we can and should do better by our workers.
We absolutely should do better! This is the kind of thing that can be regulated to prevent companies from skirting obligations to their employees. I'm also frustrated that you're not eligible for the union. I support unions as a stopgap to the level of exploitation we have now, but I'm equally frustrated by the ways they reinforce capitalist hierarchies.
And, FYI, part-time workers ARE usually eligible for unemployment benefits, whether you lose your job completely or have your hours reduced. Specifics are set state-by-state.
This post offers a summary: https://www.experian.com/blogs/employer-services/seasonal-and-part-time-workers-unemployment-benefits-eligibility/
And you can find official details about your state through this page: https://www.usa.gov/unemployment-benefits
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Dana. Thank you for sharing your experience and for offering ways for all of us to do better (both people responsible for laying off employees and employees who might need to organize a union).
I hope this can be helpful for someone! I guess I'm optimistic in believing that maybe leadership just doesn't understand how devastating the experience is, and if they know they might do better?
I’m so sorry. My position was eliminated back in May. Different circumstances but it’s a lot.
I'm sorry to hear that! It's happening to so many of us this year. My heart goes out to you and your household; I hope you've landed or will soon land somewhere comfortable.
Thank you for your kindness and compassion. I’m taking this time to learn. I’ve enrolled for a couple classes, so I will be more competitive in the market. There’s ALOT of people looking. Indeed & Linked In show you how many people applied for job postings.It can be dispiriting. My State (NJ) puts alot into their unemployed constituency they helped me get a grant among many other things for the classes. Thankfully, I can manage on the benefit amount I am getting. I’m just doing what I can and keeping the faith. Have you also been laid off?
As 50+ year journalism veteran I feel like I've seen it all. What still sticks in my craw is an experience similar to yours in 2008 when we editors were called in and the 14 weeklies we were in charge of were unceremoniously axed, mid-deadline.
The good news is that it's a field where I'm lucky to have adapted to changes over the years and I'm still cranking out the shit. However, I'm SO glad I'm at the denouement of my career.
That's so frustrating! "Mid-deadline" is key here, for journalists in particular. It's so sad to have to drop a story you were working on — disrespectful of the reporters' time, confusing for sources, a mess for editors. Just all such a dumb way to handle things.
I'm now freelancing for the same group, which has changed hands repeatedly. A group of 30-somethings runs the paper. I was excavating and came across some older editions. The paper now is a shadow of its former self.
FUCK! (That's all for now, I've only read the headline; I'll be back later once I've read the rest!) 😡
💖💖💖
Alright I'm back, having read the piece now. And, still, just fucking FUCK! I'm mad with and for you. 😡😡😡
For most companies, we are just lines on a spreadsheet, a position and a salary, easily removed. I am sorry it happened to you, it is demoralizing.
It really is! And that spreadsheet status is so by design. One of the saddest things about the experience is that editor who had to deliver us the news. I'm sure she was so far removed from the people who made the decision, and she had to carry the weight of breaking it to us.
Yeah, I've been on both ends of that conversation and feeling like just a cog in the system. There's real trauma that happens for those who get laid off and for those who are left behind with heavier workloads and broken systems, knowing their time will come eventually.
I’m so sorry, Dana.
Thank you, Sara 💖
I'm really sorry, Dana.
You're absolutely right—the carelessness is the worst part. Being let go is hard enough without the company making it worse through poor handling.
And no matter how much you tell yourself it could happen, you're never actually ready for it. The shock hits differently when it's real.
You have every right to be angry and hurt. That matters just as much as moving forward.
Sending support. This is a terrible position to be in, and I'm sorry you're going through it.
Dana, I read this last week thinking of my own layoff experience in 2023 when the company I worked for closed down. And now I'm thinking of how I was let go VIA TEXT from an hourly job I worked just one shift at two weeks ago. The job with no benefits that I took and I was genuinely excited about! The equine industry is years behind the rest of the world in safe and logical hiring practices. There's only a handful of barns I know of that are even decent places to work (and YMMV). So now I'm out job hunting again and it's The Worst.
You have my sympathies.
Thank you! And you have mine 💖
HI Dana, I am sorry that this happened to you. I hope you know how you have changed so many people's views of the world of economics. Not all black and white, with the nuanced of humans, as the most important economic actors of this imperfect system. The truth is.... unless we are the owners or shareholders.... we are a line in the balance sheet that has to be optimized and "control". In some ways companies create a "culture" to reduce the impact this has in the workers psyque, and because, "engage" and "satisfied" workers produce more widgets per hour.....but this culture is just one more story human create to make sense of an imperfect economic model that is in essence, extractive....when I feel very down by our imperfect economic system I to the Serviceberry from Robin Wall Kimmerer...it helps me dream, with a less imperfect system. For Christmas this year.... I am gifting your wisdom to my friends. Stay strong!
Thank you so much for this, Yeimi!
Same happened to me. I went in at 8 am and by 1 pm I was done. At 61 at the time, not a fun thing to happen. I am currently, 63, finally inching forward, thanks to having some money saved up, I am able to try new things like being my own boss via solopreneurship. Thanks for your pist
I'm so sorry; it's awful that people's life circumstances aren't considered here, too! I saw a layoff at a company where we cut two women who were pregnant. What a blow for their families!
Hi Dana, thank you. Yes, that is awful for the two women and their families. It seems that some companies preach or extol the virtues of being there for you, like a family. Unfortunately, when push comes to shove, profit and not for profit businesses have to follow budgets or be profitable. When a person works for a company, they are not your family or cousin. They may be a distant friend!