Month: June 2026

Company leaders often refuse to recognize it- much less deal with its effects.

It results in company employees experiencing anger, anxiety and grief. 

Employees say their productivity plummets because of it.

Customers experience its negative impacts. 

What is it? 

It’s a very real effect called Layoff Survivor Syndrome.

Researched in the 80s by Joel Bruckner and others at Columbia Business School, and first named in 1993 by organizational psychologist David Noer, layoff survivor syndrome has become even more relevant today as business layoffs have increased. Layoff survivor syndrome is the psychological and behavioral toll that employees experience after corporate downsizing, mass layoffs or AI reallocation. 

Colleagues that remain employed cope with: 

• Emotional fallout– anger, anxiety, guilt, and grief for departed co-workers
• Physical reactions triggered by a “Flight or Fight” response (such as headaches, elevated blood pressure, heart issues, acid reflux, severe insomnia, chronic fatigue)
• Heavier workloads 
• Reduced productivity (due to low morale and less job coverage from staffing cuts)
• Eroded company loyalty and mistrust in company management (e.g. Oracle laid off 20,000-30,000 employees via a 6am email in April 2026. This action violated organizational trust, bypassed direct manager involvement/standard best practices, and damaged its brand and worker retention)  

Joe Hildebrand, founder of leadership and culture consultancy humari summarizes the effects of Layoff Survivor Syndrome on businesses:

“Everything slows down. Institutional knowledge is lost, teams lose critical members and are unable to perform well, and people start to question whether they want to be working in a business that cuts its people.”

A good example of internal morale crisis can currently be seen at Meta. Meta recently laid off 10% of its workforce, and reassigned another 10% to train its AI models. Employees fought against a company initiative to track their mouse and keystroke movements to improve Meta’s AI models. After these mass layoffs and AI shifts, employee morale predictably has fallen to a near 20-year low. 

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth concedes that leadership did an “atrocious job explaining the vision” behind the cuts to fund AI infrastructure. Meta now is addressing the problem- with pledges of transparency by leadership, employee career development proposals, and increased budgets for travel, events, and even snacks.  

So what are 8 best ways that management can diminish the impacts of layoff survivor syndrome on staff morale, trust and company productivity?

1. Provide as many ways as possible to give employees more control. The original studies of layoff survivor syndrome indicated that higher perceived control on the part of remaining employees may serve as an antidote to some negative effects of layoffs.
2. Be aware that remaining staff view how their terminated colleagues are handled as a preview of their own possible future. Structured offboarding of departing employees with respect, support, and options like voluntary severance increases retention of remaining staff (71% retention vs 57% for companies that handle departures badly). 
3. Get input from remaining staff on how newly distributed responsibilities will be handled.
4. Empower remaining employees to collaborate with managers to identify which projects can be delayed or deprioritized due to reduced manpower (ie. stop/pause lists).
5. Establish concrete steps to prevent employee burnout– e.g. capture tacit knowledge and enable knowledge transfer with scheduled time for departing employees to pass on files, passwords, and data, and to explain workflows/client preferences to the remaining team. These steps allow the team to possess tools to actually manage a new increased workload.
6. Utilize transparent all-hands meetings with staff to explain reasons behind the layoffs, with ongoing open discussions of what’s next. It is vital that companies present their downsizing process to their employees in ways that are seen as fair, respectful and understanding.
7. Be transparent and accurate when implementing company strategies with employees. Some companies have justified job cuts by deceptively blaming them on AI. Employees may perceive cuts being due to the company’s financial over-extension or poor planning instead- especially when AI-powered efficiencies are not truly forthcoming. The end result is a low-trust culture among executives and employees. 
8. Structure incentives over AI changes as “Time Saved” not “Headcount Reduced.” Communicate employee retraining in AI as a tool to handle the most tedious low value tasks (sorting data, drafting basic summaries)- not to downsize workers. Proactively work to prevent workers resorting to sabotage of AI because they feel they are “training their replacement.” Rather communicate the automation tasks AI will do- that AI will help them do their job better. Then follow through to ensure that workers are able to subsequently work on high-value strategic projects needing human judgment and input.  

Company layoffs may reduce payroll expenses, but they don’t eliminate the need for collaboration, trust and institutional knowledge. The company story- and its future- does not end with the employees who leave. It continues with the employees that stay. 

When management recognizes Layoff Survivor Syndrome and takes meaningful steps to address it, they acknowledge that remaining employees are an asset to be retained, not a problem to be managed. 

Photo by Ron Lach

The proposed $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump has been presented as part of the national observances for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But the typical years-long process to approve new currency- done with security, legal, and practical concerns in mind- is being accelerated for this project. At the center of the tension is the now-former director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Patricia Solimene who reportedly resisted efforts to fast-track the project. According to reports, her concerns involved the established requirements for U.S. currency design, including that:

1. Current federal law prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency.

2. A $250 denomination has not been authorized.

3. The design of a new banknote requires testing, security features and coordination with stakeholders (e.g. all federal bureaus involved, Secret Service and others that combat counterfeiting, banks, credit unions, ATM, vending, currency counting, cash register, and ticket machine manufacturers).

Solimene was the first woman BEP director in its 162-year history, coming from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Previous to this she had spent 24 years in the military as an Army Colonel and in a highly classified Joint Special Operations Command, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. 

Of her abrupt April 27 job reassignment by senior Treasury Department officials, Solimene said in a farewell email to colleagues obtained by the Washington Post that she did not choose to leave her role as Bureau of Engraving and Printing director. Solimene asserted that she “never sacrificed the values or character of myself or the organization and always prioritized the U.S. Currency Program and the value each employee brings to the mission…The buck stopped here.”

There is an irony in this situation.  A career civil servant’s role is to remain apolitical and to ensure that established protocols and procedures are followed. Yet Patricia Solimene was reportedly reassigned from her position as BEP director while upholding the very standards she was entrusted to maintain. 

Photo by Blue Arauz

Gone are the days when a customer with a product issue could easily phone a company to get some resolution. Now businesses have phone systems that frequently involve complicated phone menus, long wait times, or continuous transferring. If customers somehow reach a live customer service agent to help them, various scenarios can play out. 

Many customers needing help have discovered that the customer care agents: 

Cannot answer any questions

Don’t have the knowledge or power to actually solve a problem

Offer insanely complicated return processes

Transfer the caller to multiple other departments, usually with disconnections

All of the above 

Press-1-for-Frustration

Recently one customer embroiled in an ongoing overcharging situation called the company (again) with the phone number she’d been using, only to discover it was now in another language, possibly Italian- with no way to switch it out, and no other phone number that worked. 

Another person found that the case number he’d been given by a previous agent could not be found- so he needed to start his problem-solving process over. Such repeated situations make it seem that company resolution processes are actually designed to make “problematic” customers become discouraged and give up.

Worse yet, many customers with issues to resolve discover that the reputable company they used in good faith outsources their customer service to third party vendors– not direct employees. 50% of companies worldwide report that they outsource customer service, supposedly to “cut costs and improve efficiency.” The Philippines, India, Latin America, Poland and Romania are popular outsourcing regions, with companies wanting strong English speakers and service oriented cultures.

Businesses that outsource their customer services also proudly report that outsourcing provides high-quality customer support- touting as proof their improved customer satisfaction increases of 62% when businesses outsourced their service. Their not-so-satisfied clients might wonder how companies reached that 62% statistic increase in customer satisfaction scores. It could be the result of the common tactic of “If you don’t take our company satisfaction survey, we’re coming after you with so many texts and emails, you’ll finally respond.” With any resulting data, the company then uses vanity metric surveys designed to produce good-looking scores rather than useful insight. Voila- a 62% increase in customer satisfaction! 

The Website FAQs That Answer Everything But YOUR Question

Beyond providing a help desk reachable by phone, businesses increasingly reduce support costs by funneling their needy consumers digitally. 

Companies euphemistically call it:

self-service support online support portal customer support ticketing system automated customer service digital-first customer support

Exasperated customers call it:

ticket purgatory the help-center maze chatbot circular process support black hole digital runaround

No customer argues that AI can adeptly check billing, share invoice status, give company hours, answer common questions, and provide certain 24/7 support. People object when companies embrace AI support technology to provide ALL their customer support. Customers are savvy enough to realize that such companies rely on support deflection- a deliberate strategy that  directs customers online so as to never reach a live representative. While these tactics can save companies money, they regularly fail to resolve actual customer service issues- and also cause companies to lose customers.

What are some BEST WAYS to actually resolve your customer service issue?

Be ready and organized with necessary information like account numbers, receipts, timeline.

Clearly and calmly state your problem and the desired resolution- as many times as necessary. 

Call during off-hours, since most people call after work or during lunch. Try early morning, which can have shorter hold times and fewer callers ahead of you. 

Repeatedly use key words such as “agent” or “representative” in chats. Trigger escalation by using phrases such as “file a complaint” or “cancel service” as well. 

Keep track of who you spoke to, when, and what you were told. Ask representatives questions to clarify what they tell you.

Nicely ask for a supervisor if the initial representative cannot help. If the supervisor doesn’t help, ask to connect to the team that has authority to resolve this issue fully. 

Tactfully utilize social media like Twitter, X, Facebook, Meta, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn or Reddit to escalate your service issues when traditional channels fail. Companies monitor mentions, DMs, or comments on their official pages, and can be sensitive to public complaints.

Politely refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer- persistence is key.  

So while it may feel like you’re fighting with company bots or the help desk from hell, navigate with patience, persistence, and well-planned tactics. These are the ways you are most likely to get your problem solved. 

Photo by Moose Photos

I confess I feel conflicted about wholeheartedly celebrating America’s upcoming 250th anniversary- and I suspect I’m not alone. American history is a complex mix of realized ideals and those still unfulfilled.

I am very proud that the founding of my nation was based on far-seeing and revolutionary ideals from its very inception. The American government’s legitimacy was based on “We the People..” -not kings, not aristocratic bloodlines, not supposed “God-ordained” rulers that had been the norm of power for centuries. This new revolutionary American order established a Constitution and Bill of Rights that guaranteed freedoms for ordinary citizens that were unprecedented in their scope- freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition, and due process. The constitutional framework of checks and balances among executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government were put in place to prevent tyranny.  

America has often fallen short of her original ideals. Those inspiring freedoms proclaimed in 1776 were largely applied to white male property owners. Slavery in particular was woven into our foundation from the very beginning. The unpaid labor of millions of enslaved people helped build America’s economic success up to the Civil War in 1861. Though slavery ended, racial discrimination continued to shape US economy and society long afterward through segregation and discriminatory laws. While the United States has made much progress in expanding civil and voting rights, some argue that recent changes to voting laws are evidence that the struggle for equal political representation still continues. 

Additionally from America’s founding, its very lands were wrested from the original indigenous inhabitants, often through broken treaties, and systemic displacements of peoples and environments. One stark symbol of the gap between America’s national ideals and reality is the near-eradication of tens of millions of bison herds across North America in the 1880s, until only 300-1000 bison remained. The bison’s decimation was cultural destruction on a mass scale for countless Native nations, never to be fully recovered.

Over its history, America has struggled with affording all its people the same rights that it fought for during the Revolutionary War. Here are just a few examples:

• Slavery was not abolished until 1865, and voting rights regardless of race were not established until 1870. 

• Though some states granted voting rights to women, it was not until 1920 that the Nineteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution allowed all American women to vote. 

• During  WW II, although some German and Italian nationals were interned as possible security risks, it was 120,000 Japanese people- two-thirds of whom were citizens- that were the ones targeted for mass incarceration in internment camps. Families lost farms, businesses, careers, savings, and properties. 

To America’s credit, there have been many official attempts to recognize wrongs done, and to acknowledge freedoms not rightly extended to Americans over our 250 year history:

• There was a formal U.S. government apology in 1988 to the Japanese community, along with compensation of $20,000 per surviving internment camp internee. Some saw this Japanese American Internment Apology & Reparations Law as too little, and too late for many. But at the very least, it was an official admission of injustice, and the government’s recognition that fear and prejudice had overridden constitutional principles.

• In 2009, Congress quietly included an official apology to Native peoples in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010. It was added as a rider- not debated as a standalone apology bill. It recognized ill-conceived policies, broken treaties, and mistreatment committed against indigenous people. However, tribes weren’t consulted beforehand, it came with no meaningful policy changes or reparations, and carefully stated it could not be used for legal claims or lawsuits. 

• That apology was seen as symbolic but insufficient- similar to the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Black Hills lands had been illegally taken from the Sioux nation, despite an 1868 Treaty. The government said the Sioux were entitled to financial compensation with interest. Many of the tribal governments view the land as sacred, never for sale, and require the land to be returned. (This would primarily involve western South Dakota’s land and a small portion of northeastern Wyoming). The unclaimed award settlement remains held in trust today by the federal government. The original $17.1 million has accrued interest to well over $1 billion.    

Our constitutional federal republic struggles with conscience, and has a capacity to acknowledge wrongdoings- and sometimes effect changes from the process. It is significant and heartening when honest confrontations take place over founding ideals not realized.

As America approaches its 250th birthday celebration, I can proudly celebrate with many fellow citizens- over many achievements attained. My nation has offered civil liberties to people arriving here seeking peace and opportunities for success and prosperity. U.S. citizens have always expected the peaceful transfer of leadership power that has been our democratic cornerstone. Our system allows for ways to change laws, to amend, to expand rights to formerly excluded groups. Freedoms of speech and religion are still protected. For now, Americans retain the right to criticize their government without fear of legal punishment- a freedom that remains rare in many other countries.

Our triumph and tragedy, progress and oppression are symbolized in this quote revealing our nation’s ongoing struggle to draw closer to our best ideals: 

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful intelligent black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.”

First Lady Michelle Obama, 2016

So perhaps the real 250th anniversary is not simply to celebrate the best of what America has been, but to celebrate what America is striving to become. Patriotism does not require the forgetting of historical injustices, and confronting them does not mean rejecting our nation. Representative government, equality before the law, individual rights, liberty- these are our founding principles. And I have no conflict with those principles- they are aspirations worth commemorating during this 250th anniversary. 

My America is an unfinished project.  

Photo by RDNE Stock Project