07/29/2026
๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ "๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐" ๐๐ถ๐ฒ
The post read: "The first thing ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ is the last thing ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ when you lose your job. ๐ง๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ."
The thought screamed from the screen: SHAME. We've made job loss shameful. So much so that we want to hide it. It's the new scarlet letter.
For sure, there are shameful reasons for losing a job. But that's not what this post was about.
It was about someone who was laid off.
Dishearteningly, I've heard it said repeatedly that "๐๐ง ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ." That's a bunch of malarkey, and it's time we said so out loud.
Pushing the performance-related layoff myth even further, we now have well-known companies declaring that ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ layoffs were about performance (not business results). One said layoffs would "raise the bar on performance management and move out low-performers faster." Another had waves of "performance-based layoffs" without severance pay, as they categorized the moves as standard terminations for failing to meet job expectations.
But here's what I wonder. How many of the thousands of ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ impacted by these "performance-based" layoff decisions were aware of their "poor performance?" Were they all on performance improvement plans? Was there documentation ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ clearly indicating they knew they weren't meeting expectations?
Anyone who knows how corporate performance management works knows this is a virtual impossibility.
If someone was blindsided by a performance-related layoff, then it's safe to say they had no idea there was a performance issue. Along with feeling shame, they then realized they were in a deceptive relationship. It felt like betrayal because it was.
Calling layoffs "performance management" is about as cowardly as it gets. It's the managers doing this who should feel shame. They're admitting they kept "poor performers" on the books for when Finance comes knocking. And that's ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ poor leadership performance. They shouldn't be leaders.
Layoffs happen for many reasons, not only because a person suddenly lacks value or talent.
Pandemics. Wars. AI. Politics. Strategy failures. Bad bets. Overspending. Overhiring. ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด. Market shifts. Financial crises. The DOGE-ing of entire industries.
Some are black swan-type events. Others are bad leadership decisions. In either case, someone being laid off due to factors beyond their control had nothing to do with their performance or intrinsic value as a person.
If you are someone who thinks being laid off deserves this scarlet letter, try this mental exercise:
If someone you loved experienced a layoff, would you think the same? ๐๐ณ ๐ช๐ง ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ?
Agree or disagree? Drop your take below.
Go get 'em! ๐
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