#anxiety

Everyone's talking about big numbers. My team hasn't been hit yet, but that doesn't mean it's safe tomorrow. Judging by the rumors and reports, it definitely looks bad. I'm afraid our worst predictions are coming true.

Since November, there have been persistent rumors of a significant layoff, with Boston CG frequently mentioned as being involved. Nothing ultimately came of it following our November earnings call, but the rumors resurfaced later, with speculation that decisions were finalized by mid-January. This week, our CEO shared a company-wide video stressing that the next 90 days are critical, which would carry us through the end of tax season. Beyond that, the outlook is unclear.

Morale among the ICs and M2/3s I’ve spoken with is low, even outside of MTV HQ. There’s constant pressure to move faster while priorities shift rapidly, and leadership has increasingly been framing Human Intelligence HI as if it were a newly discovered idea and the act of thinking.

I just heard over the wall of a manager who knows another manager that someone in HR who knows a director who said that 90% will be laid off on Wednesday. All sites. No WARN notices though because they do it in a way that they don't have to.

Or at least, I haven't heard a thing. Somehow, that makes me even more worried. They've trained us well.

We'll go crazy before this is over. Normally, I wouldn't care as much, I can't stand my job, but have you seen the unemployment numbers and job market lately?

What else is there to say but good luck to all of us.

More people got cut today, despite a big wave happening this past Thursday. If you even get an itch that something is off (more work, less work, more micromanaging, time off not being approved or acknowledged), it could be a sign. Stay vigilant, keep having conversations with your peers and network, and start looking elsewhere before it's too late. There will probably be more just based on the stock.

Does anyone know any info regarding possible lay offs coming soon? Something feels very reminiscent to this summer right before the big one.

It crosses my mind daily which I know is not healthy. I try not to think about it and focus on my job but I find it impossible to keep the thoughts and fear entering my thoughts.

Once layoffs start, are they usually completed the same day? This’ll be my first layoff since I joined, and I’m more stressed than I’ve ever been. I’m worried one of the criteria will be last in, first out, which means I’m probably gone. I don’t think I can handle this dragging on for more than a day once it starts.

Losing this job doesn't scare me like it used to. The environment has gotten so bad that leaving might be a relief. The benefits are poor and the culture is toxic, so what am I really protecting?

Layoffs are only on post-payday Tuesday?

Verizon has conditioned me for panic. An unexpected invite from my manager? My stomach drops. A sudden team call? I assume it's bad news. The constant low-level te---r is the new normal.

The rumors about major cuts this month feel more substantial than the usual gossip. I'm getting genuinely concerned that we're walking into a disaster in the coming weeks.

Am I the only one who thinks there is way too much reliance on layoffs lately? I like my job at Xylem, but it's been a while since I felt like I have any kind of job security. This wasn't the case always. Now I'm even considering looking for something else, even if I do like it here in general.

We're not living in some golden age where jobs are easy to find. I'm freaking out, and by the looks of it, the vast majority of people around me are too.

What our employer is doing may not be illegal, but it is absolutely intentional.

People who have worked remotely for ten years are suddenly being told to commute hours every day. No individual consideration. No acknowledgement that some people do not even have the means to comply. Dress codes are being tightened after years. Compensation reviews are promised, then quietly abandoned. All of it is happening right in between layoff rounds.

Individually, each change can be defended. Together, they create pressure. Pressure that leadership knows will cause people to quit.

That pattern has a name. Constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge. It is when working conditions are changed in ways that predictably push people out without formally laying them off.

This approach may help avoid certain legal thresholds, but it does not make it ethical. It places sustained psychological pressure on employees by design. People are left in prolonged uncertainty, forced to make impossible choices between their jobs and their lives, their families, their finances, and their health. The stress is not incidental. It is cumulative and relentless.

For some, this kind of management creates anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and a constant sense of threat. When policies are used to push people out while leadership remains silent, employees are made to feel trapped and disposable. In extreme cases, this pressure has contributed to serious mental health crises, including people being pushed toward self harm. That is not a side effect. This is the intention.

Legal or not, it is a sh---y thing to do to people who have given years of their lives to a company.

I can only imagine how the people cut this week are feeling. The rest of us will probably spend it consumed with anxiety over next week. About which we still know almost nothing. What a way to treat people.

Hello, as a newly graduate at paypal only less than one year on popular team, am I sc--wed? Just dont want lay off...

The thought of this spilling into next week makes me feel sick.

My small team hasn't been hit yet. I'm a bit in the dark. But I'm seeing a lot of orgs getting hit, both here and overseas. I'm really sorry, everyone. It feels like we're in for some bad times. I wish the best of luck to those already let go.

The rumors are all over the place. Does anyone know anything for certain?

Is that too much to ask for?

Is this the same as getting IM? And means the axe is about to fall?

I'm stuck in the worst kind of limbo. Staying means more of this stress, but leaving without a plan is scary. The fact that I can't decide which is worse says everything about how bad things are here.

The job market is terrible, but the unprofessionalism makes it worse. I've been left hanging after final interviews twice now. Since when did it become okay to just vanish on a candidate? It adds a whole other layer of stress to an already hard process.

The younger folks here don't realize how lucky they are. They're cheaper to keep, so they're safer. And if they do get cut, the job market is actually open to them. At 52, a layoff for me could be career-ending. It's a terrifying position to be in.

Many are talking about potential February layoffs. Does anyone have solid intel, or are we all just anxiously guessing? I wish we knew one way or the other so we could prepare.

February might be the shortest month, but it'd still be good to know when exactly the supposed layoffs are to take place.

It's so tiring to be focused on the possibility of losing your job 24/7. I'm always saving money to the point I can't enjoy my hobbies anymore. I don't know the last time I bought a book or a game because I can't justify the expense even if I can afford it because I could potentially be laid off any day now. This is a very sad way to live and nobody responsible for it seems to care.

I’ve been at WF almost 10 years and never really heard of anyone getting inconsistently meets until last year, where good and hard working colleagues told me in confidence their managers gave them IM rating. I also noticed that on this site, there appear to be more topics related to this rating. Is this a new thing at WF? I have been an individual contributor so never needed to give rating, but I am finding that the IM’s are coming not because the employees are doing a bad job, but because their managers are micromanaging everything. It makes me want to voluntarily leave as I don’t want to fall victim to this. The ones who I know personally who received IM were shocked when they got it. Some of them had an exceeds rating the year earlier. One of them was only in their role for a few months.

Working every contact, and applying for anything where my skills might fit. I'm becoming desperate. One single interview, and it didn't work out. It's as bad out there as everyone says. Watching Open Text's nosedive is freaking me out. We knew things were bad, and layoffs became the norm, but this feels like the death throes.

That would make sense, it's pay week. I don't know how we're supposed to keep it together until this wave is over. I'm already stressed out of my mind.

Starting to see all the people that got laid off in October, starting to freak out about not finding something. Severance is most likely gone, and unemployment getting ready to run out.

Can we stop these micro layoffs and just do a big one and call it a day? The anxiety of the impending due does not help morale.

Did I miss something? Was this announced? Expected? I feel sick to my stomach because I honestly had no idea this was coming today.

I am sure the majority of people in Burlington are enjoying their time WFH while smaller desks, and cramped quarters will be taking effect in the building for our return. I can speak for myself when I say my mental health has been so much better for the last 5 weeks, however knowing this is our last week WFH (fingers crossed it gets extended) my anxiety is creeping about returning to the office..

For those asking when layoffs will start, or who is next etc. What exactly are you going to do with this information? Look for another job? You should be doing that already. Even if the info was available to tell you your department, or specifically you were being laid off, what would you do with this information? Save your money? You should be doing that already. Someone help me understand what all this worry is worth. Explain to me how knowing what will happen will change anything. BTW, you'll never know. You might get some tips about a certain department but you'll never know if it's going to be you. Why worry about something you have no control over? What you can control is how you prepare and you should be doing that already. Worrying about what can happen will only make you sick. Be in the moment. If it happens be as prepared as you can. But stop worrying about it.