I had the opportunity to speak with Amy Laird, former editor-in-chief of Women’s Health Magazine.she is running now A mental health and lifestyle site.Discussed getting fired in a world already shaken by Zoom COVID-19 Pandemic.
Image courtesy of B-Good PR
ML: Amy, thank you so much for joining me. Please tell us about your site.
Al: I looked up the mental health field and couldn’t find a site so I made one We blended mental health and lifestyle. There was no place for women who approached the crossroads of our humanity that way.
I have OCDI am interested in beauty, careerthis is where you can find it all put together.
ML: Your site is neither too broad nor overly specific. There’s just enough balance for people to get a lot out of it.
Al: It’s the hope that when people get to one story, they find themselves around other kinds of stories. It is a place of discovery like a magazine. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with a mental health condition or are struggling with it, you’ll find something on the site.
ML: Tell me about layoffs on Zoom. how did you find it?
Al: I myself was laid off via Zoom as part of a mass layoff, and I’ve noticed so many people posting on LinkedIn about some of the layoffs.As you know, it’s rare to see anyone publicly admit they’ve been fired, probably before 2022. They thought people only want to hire people who already have a job, so if they aren’t currently employed, they won’t get hired.
next, shame About being laid off, even if it’s part of a massive corporate restructuring. Suddenly, maybe because we’re coming out of the pandemic and people are talking and sharing about mental health openly, my LinkedIn feed is full of people talking about getting fired.
Others were coming in, tagging recruiters and asking if they were a good fit for a particular job opening. People exposing themselves is an interesting phenomenon, and communities have rallied to support them in terms of networking and mental health.
There’s a very specific type of emotional distress that occurs when you’re fired by Zoom while working from home. Because where we hang out is also where we work, it seems that these mass layoffs caused many to be digitally disconnected either immediately or on the same day.
When I used to work in an office, it took me days to declutter my space and do this, do this, and process. When digitally cut, it’s shocking and jarring. When you wake up the next morning, you’re still “at work.” It’s strange. The dining room table is also an office. The next morning you are in the “office” and no more work. it ruins your mind.
I spoke with experts about this and they agreed that this is a very specific type of pile-up situation. depressionThere are also many reports of people working from home loneliness There are fewer connections, and the dominoes keep piling up when I remove the small form of digital connection I had at work.
ML: While for many people work is just a source of income, for others it is their primary source of income. identityLayoffs can lead to deep philosophical questions, but I think that’s normal. What Makes Zoom Layoffs Worse?
Al: worldYou start asking yourself, “Who am I without this job?” If I’m not this, who am I? ‘I was on her team of 50 and after half an hour it was just me. I know he was his beauty editor for over a decade, but when he retired and moved to health editing, he wasn’t fired in between those jobs, but it made me feel uncomfortable with my identity. gave T.The transition from one work-related identity to another is jarring.
Especially in the United States, identity is implied in work. I have spoken with anthropologists and sociologists about how we were a society of communities. When you lose that individuality you cling to, you experience a strange sense of isolation.
With digital layoffs, the situation is even worse, as home as an emotional haven is literally gone.
ML: There is some kind of ritual for direct dismissal. As you clean up your desk, pack your bags, say goodbye, and go get your coffee mug from the break room, you might be in tears.
Al: Exactly, you talk to your colleagues. You have not been digitally erased.We use her Slack, email, etc. so employers can easily turn them off right awaySo when it turns off it’s like, “Wait, was I there too?” I never go back and talk to my colleagues. You don’t have the ability to go home, pick yourself up, say goodbye and settle any outstanding issues. You may feel that you were not needed at all.Experts say it’s a toxic kind of isolation you feel. Lying I sweat it out at home and it pops into my head.
ML: During the pandemic lockdown, many were forced to use virtual technology to create a new normal. If a digital layoff cuts off the new normal he just created, what will they do from there?I want to tie this into Shopify’s story. What difference did it make to her that a Shopify employee answered the same philosophical question with this new digital structure?
Al: We humans have been through a lot emotionally and spiritually over the past three years, including the pandemic.We learned all these new technical things, but after the layoffs they were again put in a situation where they had to figure out how to deal withFor some people, I think it has led to new paths that they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
Heather, the woman who was laid off during a massive layoff at Shopify, started Shopify’s former employee network. It has become a business. What started as a support network has become a place where recruiters can join too. We see this around LinkedIn, where people take it on to connect people with technology, editorial, and more.
It’s a new gig to help laid off people get new jobs. Besides the fact that she’s helping others, she’s helping herself by staying connected. Friendly Ex I found an interesting study showing that staying in touch with colleagues can help you network and advance to your next job. Heather has carved out a new niche for herself.
Be open to the possibilities. But especially in this kind of situation. Your first thought may be to get a job like the one you had. When I see people sharing their feelings, I think they are starting to have compassion for themselves. increase.
