The New Digital Pink Slip, Elevating Black Leaders And How Being A ‘Hero’ May Hurt Veterans’ Careers
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The Google offices in Granary Square, London. In January, the company announced it was laying off 12,000 workers; employees described learning of their job cuts via email notification. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)
PA Images via Getty Images
The posts on LinkedIn have been heart-wrenching. The woman who found out about her layoff the same day she gave birth. The young program manager who was about to take his family on a tour of the office before reading it. The software engineer who had been up until 3 a.m. the night before working, only to discover the email hours later that meant his visa was now at risk.
These are the stories of people who work for tech companies where layoff notifications were sent via email. In some cases, there were no official one-on-ones with their managers. No company-wide town hall where the CEO had to get up and deliver the news in front of people. Not even a Zoom call dropping the hammer.
Have we reached the era of the digital pink slip? It’s sure starting to look that way. From Twitter to Salesforce to Google, employees have gotten notice—whether initially or in total—from their inbox. This week, I spoke with experts in outplacement, recruiting and human resources about why. Some suggested it’s evidence the lawyers, not the managers, are running the show—after all, an email is a lot easier to control than an emotional supervisor. Others suggested it’s a lack of practice with mass layoffs—many of these large tech firms haven’t had to do cuts on this size before. Still others thought it may have been hesitations from company leaders that they too, would end up like Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, who went viral after laying off workers on Zoom.
After I posted my story on LinkedIn, one chief people officer—Colleen McCreary at Credit Karma—commented to say the practice of emailed layoff notifications was just “laziness full stop,” describing how she’d conducted job cuts in the past, with each affected person having a conversation with their manager within a two-hour period. “It matters—years later, people still comment on how respected they felt and remember the company fondly.”
Here’s hoping more follow that approach. If you’re keeping track of which companies are cutting jobs, here’s our layoff tracker, which Forbes’ Brian Bushard diligently updates. Speaking of Google layoffs, my colleague Richard Nieva has a look at how workers at Alphabet’s “Other Bets,” like Waymo and Verily, didn’t get as much severance as other Google workers. And as always, our contributors have insights on why big tech layoffs are happening, how you can leverage your soft skills to find a tech job in another industry and how to regain a sense of psychological safety after a massive layoff.
FEATURED STORY
Wall Street’s Most Connected Black Woman Has An Ingenious Idea To Narrow The Wealth Gap
Ariel Investments’ Project Black aims to leapfrog the size barrier Black entrepreneurs face by acquiring companies with $100 million to $1 billion in sales and, if they’re not already minority-run, installing Black and Latino executives to manage them—“minoritizing” the companies, as co-CEO Mellody Hobson puts it. Read more in Maneet Ahuja and Hank Tucker’s profile of Hobson here.
ON OUR AGENDA
News from the world of work
Mais non, ne travaille plus: Mass demonstrations took over cities across France for the second time in two weeks Tuesday, as eight major unions joined together to protest the French government’s proposed pension overhaul, which includes raising the national retirement age from 62 to 64.
The politics of CEO pay: New research conducted by academics at Durham University Business School in the UK and Sabanci Business School in Turkey shows that elections that bring left-leaning politicians to power lower the pay of chief executives in that place by an average of almost 6%, writes Forbes contributor Josie Cox.
Super Bowl leadership styles: The matchup is set between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. But the most compelling story may not involve any of the players, writes Forbes contributor Theodore McDarrah. All eyes should be on the two men wearing the headsets on the sidelines: Head coaches Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni. On opposite ends of their careers, how different are their philosophies of leadership?
Hero no more: The belief that “heroes” should be self-sacrificing is leading veterans into lower-paying service-oriented careers, researchers found in a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Forbes’ Ana Faguy reports on the study, which through 11 experiments with 6,500 participants, examined the connection between “hero” language and low rates of employment and earnings.
An Rx for pharmacist shortages: Major drugstore chains have announced they will be reducing hours in March following labor shortages, reports Forbes’ Anthony Tellez. Employment growth for pharmacists is projected to grow only 2%, much slower than other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also reports the demand for pharmacists has risen as they expand their roles beyond filling prescriptions.
Quite the fumble: Louisiana State University overpaid football coach Brian Kelly by more than $1 million last year, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, adding to the coach’s already-eye-popping salary—but the payments were found to be accidental and the university has reached an agreement with the coach to recoup its money.
WORK SMARTER
Practical insights and advice from Forbes contributors for building your career, leading smarter and finding balance.
Can’t get enough ZZZs? A sleep psychologist explains how to turn off your brain at night.
Taking—or making—counter offers are never a good idea. Here’s why.
Survived a layoff round? Cope with any guilt you may feel with these five ideas.
It’s easy to feel stuck in your job in a downturn—try these tips to make progress.
Layoffs aren’t the end of the world. Here’s how to land your next gig.
BOOKMARKED
Books, links and other reads from around the web about work, careers and leadership.
“Workism” could be reaching its end, writes the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, as rich Americans work less and buy more free time.
Vox’s Rani Molla examines how the tech worker layoffs could benefit traditional companies, all of whom hire—and need—workers with tech skills.
In Upshift: Turning Pressure into Performance and Crisis into Creativity, humanitarian crisis expert Ben Ramalingam explains how to reframe responses to stress and pressure, using them instead to benefit your work and mindset.
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