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Layoff Thinking

blogs.newardassociates.com

1–10 of 104 posts

Re: Layoff Thinking

#2
I don't understand the American "what do you do?" as first introduction.

It's more fun to ask "how do you know 'x'" where 'x' is the host of the party or event or whatever. Although I'm Canadian.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#3
> We are so conditioned to believe that we have no inherent worth in capitalism unless we are EARNING.

This is a fabulation, right. What kind of POS parent would instill self-worth on money and career into their kids?

Apart from being amoral and flawed at the core, it would often lead to mental issues since amount of people that like (not even love) their work is in low single digit %

Re: Layoff Thinking

#4
In my opinion that does not quite explain it completely. I recently read Mind over Grind by Guy Winch and he tries to explain it with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and that losing our job costs us security, social structure, status, accomplishment, as well as a sense of our identity.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#5
post #2

I don't understand the American "what do you do?" as first introduction. It's more fun to ask "how do you know 'x'" where 'x' is the host of the party or event or whatever. Although I'm Canadian.

What about it don’t you understand?

Re: Layoff Thinking

#6
post #4

In my opinion that does not quite explain it completely. I recently read Mind over Grind by Guy Winch and he tries to explain it with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and that losing our job costs us security, social structure, status, accomplishment, as well as a sense of our identity.

I suspect most retirees would disagree.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#7
post #4

In my opinion that does not quite explain it completely. I recently read Mind over Grind by Guy Winch and he tries to explain it with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and that losing our job costs us security, social structure, status, accomplishment, as well as a sense of our identity.

> security, social structure, status, accomplishment, as well as a sense of our identity.

It's almost like staking all of this to a single gameable resource is an issue.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#8
Humans are very sensitive to being ostracized, and modern layoffs in aggregate are at least partially (~20%) intended and communicated as being ways to get rid of 'low performers', so we know that even when we get laidoff simply due to not making a cut line on a spreadsheet we still think it may be due to our own performance and also that others may think that as well.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#9
I’ve been in software development since 2003. I’d never been layed off until Jan 2024. I had some dodged several. The signs were all there, company acquired about a year before, product didn’t really fit in their vision. That’s when the layoffs usually happen, a year or so into it. Yet I was still surprised. They got me, they finally got me! At first I thought it was a blessing. I had changed jobs fairly regularly but I hadn’t had any time off aside from the usually week or so here and there for 20 years. I casually started leetcoding and applying. Nothing. My network finally came through after 3 months of time off. The vacation was nice but I was low key starting to worry.

The situation is even worse now. Personally I think there will be a rebound in hiring eventually. Wrangling ai if nothing else. Otherwise, Vernor Vinge once said long term technical unemployment would be a sign of the singularity; just pray for a soft take off!

Re: Layoff Thinking

#10
post #2

I don't understand the American "what do you do?" as first introduction. It's more fun to ask "how do you know 'x'" where 'x' is the host of the party or event or whatever. Although I'm Canadian.

I would say it's pretty rare to hear, "What do you do?" as a first introduction in the wild in America.

"How do you know x?" is in fact much more common.

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