Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Layoff Thinking

blogs.newardassociates.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 104 posts

Re: Layoff Thinking

#81

Post by tonyedgecombe »

munificent wrote: post #21
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect most retirees would disagree.

Many would disagree but many would disagree. When you look around or start talking to older folks you discover that retirement is often a traumatic transition, even when entered voluntarily. The loss of structure, frequent social interaction, and a sense of meaning can be really difficult. There are a lot of people who retire and die not long after because they sort of stop thriving in the absence of those things. It…

>There are a lot of people who retire and die not long after

That's mainly because people with poor health are forced into early retirement.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#82

Post by darshanmakwana »

the_sleaze_ wrote: post #69
habinero wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> young recruiter women aren't attracted to them Having worked with a lot of recruiters, I promise -- promise! -- this is not a factor lol. Just because you find them attractive does not make the feeling mutual. They deal with enough shit from both management and engineers. They're friendly because of their job. As a second knowledge bomb, the barista also does not find you charming.

> I promise -- promise! -- this is not a factor lol. Study after study after study shows more attractive people do better by the numbers in just about every single metric you can come up with. I imagine a recruiter may bristle at that as much as they would the racial bias that is also measurable in recruiting, since it would be the recruiter committing the bias. It's there in the numbers though. 1. Immune function: h…

There is definitely a correlation but I don't believe it's the causation

Re: Layoff Thinking

#83

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

mannanj wrote: post #72
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #30

Heck, we take it well, compared to Japan. They really identify with their jobs. There's people that commit suicide, if they get laid off or fired. May not be as prevalent, as it was, a couple decades ago. At one time, execs also took enormous Responsibility and Accountability, for the performance of their companies. I feel as if American execs could learn a thing or two from them. The worst punishment that you can ge…

Any tips for others? Sounds like you got into freelance. I might have my first freelance client as well on Monday, and I am feeling like a good time is about to come though I also wonder how to find other clients.

Sorry. I can’t really be of help. All the work I do, is unpaid; either for myself, or for nonprofits.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#84

Post by bluGill »

cj wrote: post #64
bluGill wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is horrible. Conversations are most easy to start around weather, work, and family. (Travel, where you live, hobbies, and sport are most of the rest.) you don't help anyone avoiding conversation.

That’s why it’s a game. If I run out of interesting conversation starters, I default to weather/work/family and carry on. I simply prefer to start with unique/contextual topics first.

that makes sense.

Re: Layoff Thinking

#85

Post by jfil »

ilovefrog wrote: post #43

I don't care about this identity thing at all. I only care about survival. If I am unemployed long enough in America, I will eventually die. I worry about not being able to pursue things that matter to me because I am going to die. This article is written for someone who doesn't need money.

I think this "I will die" thought is one of the persistent fallacies that create stress for people who are unemployed (and keep the currently-employed quiet and compliant).

Everyone should consider, will you actually die? And - the converse - do you think you'll avoid death forever?

Re: Layoff Thinking

#86

Post by heelix »

ip26 wrote: post #28
gfody wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

vibe layoffs are bad practice due to fundamental attribution error (line managers don't necessarily have any idea who their low performers are even if they think they do) and ultimately expose the company to discrimination lawsuits if hr doesn't enforce a fair and consistent selection criteria

So what do you recommend instead, a dice roll?

I mean - you don't want to keep the unlucky people, right?

Re: Layoff Thinking

#87

Post by ivankra »

rayxi271828 wrote: post #51

Internal assessment of self-worth is one thing. But one thing that I noticed while I was between jobs, was that the rest of the world was also built under the assumption that you "had a job". Sign up for financial anything, they always ask you, which company you're with? What's your title? What's the range of your income? I don't know if this is the case in the US, but in my country, I couldn't even open a brokerage…

Founder & CEO at stealth startup

Re: Layoff Thinking

#88

Post by littlexsparkee »

wnc3141 wrote: post #60
cj wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I follow an informal rule of "never be the first person in a conversation to bring up work/career" (or weather, or family/kids). If you play the rule like a game, it's kind of fun. After starting with a personal trainer, I made it 10 sessions (10 hours) of small talk before he finally asked me something that led to a conversation about work. It's a lot more challenging (but way more rewarding I find) to initiate conv…

I hate asking people what they do, but it's hard to know ahead of time what questions will get an excited answer, so it's sort of a fall back.

I feel like asking 'what brought you to ?' is a framing that doesn't box them in so much, they can respond with non-work interests or volunteer about what they do if they want

Re: Layoff Thinking

#89

Post by contraposit »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #6
mnzi wrote: 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.

Yes. It is similar to the military saying that, "cemetry is full of indespensible people." We think the company won't thrive without us, but flow of life finds a way to do without it. This realization can be good or bad depending on your outlook.

The Day I Realized Work Was Stealing My Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yw6tBaT0X4

Re: Layoff Thinking

#90

Post by littlexsparkee »

mmclar wrote: post #36

"What do you do?" and "How do you earn a living?" are different questions and it's on you if you confuse them.

They're different questions but I wouldn't put the onus on the respondent because it's ambiguous, perhaps tactically so, since it's gauche to ask the latter, at least as stated. That way you can still prime the question but have plausible deniability.
Post reply on HN