Coping with Survivor Sickness

You’ve survived a round of layoffs (or two or three) at work. So why do you feel as if you’ve been laid off yourself?

You might be suffering from “layoff survivor sickness”, a toxic blend of anger, survival guilt, fear and anxiety that can cause sleepless nights, sinking morale and plummeting productivity. It’s the same process people go through when they survive car crashes. Many sufferers of layoff survivor sickness might even be clinically depressed and could benefit from professional treatment.

Here are eight practical tips on overcoming layoff survivor sickness:

Remain calm. When layoffs hit, the immediate reaction of those left behind is often panic. Overcome this panic and anxiety by developing a plan of what you’d do if you got laid off, too. It’s like crisis preparedness or emergency management—only for yourself. Have a plan means that if and when a layoff happens to you, you’ll feel less of a sting and more in control.

Recognize that survival guilt is normal.

Your boss and even your friends may tell you how fortunate you are to still have your job, but layoff survivors feel anything but lucky. It mentally takes a toll, losing sleep, appetite, plagued by questions of being spared while others lost their jobs. Such survival guilt is common and it won’t help to deny or internalize the pain. Allow yourself to grieve the loss of your colleagues and your sense of stability.

Talk it out. Keeping your grief and frustration bottled up is a recipe for trouble, and it’s not a sign of weakness to vent your feelings. If you don’t let it out, you won’t get better. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. Office gossip with excessively negative colleagues is unproductive and will only make you feel worse.

Be honest and efficient. Layoff survivors usually end with heavier workloads, which can take their toll on even the best employees. Talk to your employer if you’re concerned about the consequences of a higher workload. Indicate that you are grateful for the position, but there could be a possibility of a higher error rate. 

Eliminate distractions from the work environment. Schedule meetings rather than discuss work issues spontaneously.

Unhook your self-esteem from your company. You’ll bounce back layoff survivor sickness quicker if you find self-esteem in the type of work you do rather than where you do it. It’s called “breaking organizational codependence” and it means that you should find a sense of value and purpose in your profession rather than in your company. Place your self-esteem in your own hands and not your organization’s hand.

Empower yourself. On a related note, layoff survivors should develop transferrable skills. Being proactive about your professional development—whether by taking a community education course, ramping up your professional networking or  exploring alternate income sources—is always a good idea, but especially when your employer is downsizing. It’s not disloyal to look after yourself. If you have skills other companies want, your  company will want to keep you.

Manage your stress. Practice your best stress management techniques after hours, and keep your life in balance. Avoid watching the new or disturbing movies if they put you in a bad mood. Maintain your exercise routine. Keep busy and avoid isolating yourself, but incorporate quiet time to reflect on the good things about your life. People who have the capacity to find a “attitude of gratitude” even in the midst of trouble move to the other side of grief more quickly.

Maintain perspective. If layoff survivor sickness is incapacitating or you’re being dramatically overworked with no respite in sight, quit your job. People who are laid off and have found a better life outside feel guilty because their friends are still stuck. That teaches people that when you  are terminated you really don’t die...Your life is not your job.

(Taken from monster.com, Megan Malugani, Monster Contributing Editior)