"Why me?” he murmured with a heavy voice. Holding back tears his hands clutching his head. “Everything was going on so well. I don’t know how to tell this to my family," he sat on his desk as his colleague listened. The atmosphere in the office was gloomy. Hushed conversations, strange looks on peoples’ faces.
Rishabh was one of the unlucky ones in a large IT MNC. He got laid off in the second week of January. This is in the recent spate of layoffs tech companies are witnessing. It also seems to be catching on as the year 2023 advances.
Whether it is a general economic downturn or recession affecting only a particular business sector, layoffs are one of the inevitable outcomes. Looking at the bigger picture, there’s nothing unusual about it. However, when it comes to the individual who got fired, it is a serious problem. What happens next to Rishabh and the others who got laid off? They lose a lot of things apart from the money.
Getting laid off doesn’t only mean loss of a monthly paycheck or financial hardships, it also demolishes a system in which a professional thrives. A professional has his identity, and his purpose attached to a job. A position, designation and role in the business, all drive him/her to feel productive and motivated. A sudden severance from all this is a huge shock. It is considered second only to losing a dear one.