Layoffs Are Harming Our Mental Health

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News flash: Businesses don’t care about your wellbeing, even if you work for them.

Crazy, right? It seems like every day another greedy company decides to throw thousands of employees to the wayside to help their bottom line.

As it turns out, losing your job can be bad for your health. Downsizing and layoffs increase the risks of mental and physical illnesses in workers, and even lead to a shorter lifespan.

This is an ongoing problem. Personally, I’ve known plenty of people who have been let go from their jobs. With how common layoffs are, it makes it difficult to trust your employer. There’s a reason more and more people are practicing ‘job hopping’ – constantly finding new jobs after a year or two to secure increased pay and better opportunities.

The age of working for a single company for decades, becoming tenured, and securing steady raises and a nice retirement package are long gone. Why would anyone be loyal to a single company when it just doesn’t pay off anymore?  

A prime example occurred in 2023; when tech giant Google suddenly let go of around 12,000 employees via email. A year later, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai followed up by saying that more layoffs may be soon to come.

In an internal memo to google staff, he said: “We have ambitious goals and will be investing in our big priorities this year… The reality is that to create the capacity for this investment, we have to make tough choices.”

What an asshole. I’m sure these tough choices have really weighed on you while you watched your net worth climb over 1 billion dollars.

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While the suits and business execs are living their best lives making millions of dollars, layoffs are causing a mental health crisis. Displaced workers are facing increased rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses.

Of course, some people will try to argue against anything these days.

“So, people get depressed and anxious from losing their job. That’s what therapy is for!”

Therapy certainly helps, but unfortunately the problem runs deeper than that.

Layoffs also can lead to negative physical effects, which can include weight loss/gain, difficulty sleeping, nausea, and fatigue. Over time these problems can grow even worse, and being stressed for long periods of time can wreak havoc on your body.

“These snowflakes should pull themselves up by their bootstraps! Losing your job isn’t going to kill you!”

Wrong again! The stress from the mental and physical problems faced by workers who have lost their jobs has been studied by researchers, and the results aren’t pretty.

There have been two studies conducted in Finland from previous decades that have followed unemployed workers after their companies axed them, and both times researchers came to the same conclusion:

Workers who become unemployed from downsizing die earlier on average. Let that sink in. As if losing your job wasn’t bad enough, imagine dying earlier because of it! Talk about shitty luck.

 One could argue that studies from Finland shouldn’t be relevant to the US. I would argue that if the happiest country in the world has a problem with increased mortality from stress caused by layoffs, then the reality is that things are looking even worse for Americans.

In fact, America has been experiencing lower levels of happiness in recent years. This is extremely concerning, considering that Americans often have less social support systems in place compared to other countries.

If you’re waiting for good news, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Even if you don’t lose your job from downsizing, in all likelihood you will still be affected. Also, the situation for surviving employees of company layoffs isn’t much better.

 Survivors of layoffs are far more likely to be less motivated, overworked, and express negative views towards their employer. These issues lead companies to struggle with higher turnover rates, further fueling a cycle of decreased productivity.

More and more working professionals are experiencing the effects of burnout, and over 81% have said that they feel even worse than during the pandemic. There are also rising concerns about the economy and job security.

The future sure is looking bright!

Wow, this article got really depressing. After all of that, I think we could use some words of encouragement.

                                                      Chris Rodriguez | TedxStockholm

To any CEOs or business execs reading this, please stop shrinking your companies just to make your shareholders happy next quarter. I think it’s clear enough that layoffs are harmful to the health of both current and former employees, and that the long-term consequences just aren’t worth it.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes, layoffs may be the only way to save a sinking company, but they should only be used if all else fails. Modern businesses have gotten way too comfortable with treating workers like disposable tools that are only useful for making money.

Also, the least these companies can do is provide resources to assist former workers who need additional help. For anyone who has lost their job, or is struggling with mental health, finding a good therapist should be a top priority.

Those of us lucky enough to have a stable job right now should count our blessings. Just make sure to always have a backup plan, and don't forget that that you are more than just your job.