How To Not Lose You When You Lose Your Job
This week we’re tackling the really tough second half of last week's question: “That job was a huge part of my life. (If I’m being honest, it WAS my life.) To say I feel naked and alone right now is an understatement.”
Before We Go Any Further
This episode of Dear Abby (and this post) comes with a trigger warning, as we talk about death by suicide. If you are at risk of self-harm, please step away from your screen right now and reach out:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 (free, 24/7)
These resources are free and immediate; reaching out is not dramatic. It's a key step in prevention. Research confirms that talking about suicide does not "put the idea in someone's head." Quite the opposite, in fact. Saying it out loud is how we help.
Fun fact for my fellow 2001 graduates: we are in rare, heavy company
Job cuts surpassed one million by November 2025, and that's only happened four other times in the last 32 years: the dot-com bubble in 2001, the Great Recession in 2008–2009, and the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Some more recent stats: in December, Omnicom laid off 4,000 employees and announced an additional 10,000 would be impacted by sell-offs. Just last week, Adweek’s headline read that 65% of marketing jobs may not survive AI. USA Today announced a layoff tracker on Friday. (Quite the start to the weekend!)
The ground really is shifting. These are big stressors and they deserve to be talked about. Fun fact: last week's Dear Abby episode on layoffs amassed three times the traffic I'm used to. Three times. That tells me it struck a nerve.
In this episode, we also talk about how companies are trying to “human.” We discuss the recent trend of companies posting childhood photos of their employees. Little kids in Halloween capes and princess costumes, paired with captions like "Here's the person who does your billing."It splits me in half, honestly. On one hand, I love that companies are centering their people, acknowledging that every professional was once a smaller person with big dreams. On the other hand, it hits me like some sort of corporate power play. (So much for all that dreaming, now finish up those invoices before the next round of cuts!)
I know that sounds dark. But I bring it up because there is a real, uncomfortable truth here.
Those little people who have those dreams are still your colleagues. They’re still working to achieve something (a big title, a role on the A-team, whatever) and when that’s suddenly gone, the chasm that forms can be huge.
So, We Need to Discuss What Actually Helps
Per usual, we say the hard stuff out loud and provide actionable tips to help a friend, family member, or colleague going through this. If you're in a tough spot and you need someone to talk to, reach out to me. I mean that. abby.lovett@ctpvisibility.com. Or reach out to a friend, a loved one, a counselor, the 988 Lifeline. Just reach out.
Dedicated to Nate
While I was outlining this episode, my husband Brian received news that a childhood friend had died by suicide. His last text exchange with Brian was about how hard he was looking for a job. How he wasn't feeling like there was anything out there. Now, this news doesn’t fit neatly into a blog post (and if you listen to the episode, you can hear how tough it is to talk about there, too). And you know what? I’ll take the “mess” and “fumbly” bits if talking about all of this helps one person. You might call it a little “dark” for a “professional development” piece. I call it necessary.
