Survivor’s Guilt After a Layoff: 8 Things HR Can Do to Help

Layoffs are difficult for employees who lose their jobs. But those who are left behind, doing the work and seeing their colleagues forced out the door, also face difficult times.

They almost always suffer survivor’s guilt.

With about 1.7 million layoffs and discharges across industries, you can imagine there is a lot of survivor’s guilt in the U.S. workforce.

So after a company goes through the difficult decision to lay off employees, and HR does all they can to be certain it’s done with compassion, you’ll likely be left with heightened emotions, breakdowns in culture, potential rises in tension and more on-site.

So let’s take a deeper look at survivor’s guilt and how HR can navigate it.

What is Survivor’s Guilt?

Survivor’s guilt is relatively common following layoffs at an organization, and the sudden change can drive a drop in morale. The people left working often become more disengaged with their work and the company.

“In fact, most — 70% — layoff survivors admit their motivation has dropped since layoffs took place,” says Christopher Pappas, founder of eLearning Industry.

At first, they’re relieved they still have their jobs. Then they feel guilty that they were relieved. So they start to have different and complex emotions, such as:

• Wondering “why me?” if team members or close co-workers were laid off
• Feeling anger or disappointment toward the company as a whole or business leaders, and
• Worrying about another round of layoffs that could affect their job security.

“Job cuts are stressful and emotional for everyone, and for the employees who aren’t directly impacted, most feel more overworked since layoffs happened,” says Pappas.

How Survivor’s Guilt Affects the Organization

Survivor’s guilt will likely affect:

• Employee morale. Employees will likely feel defeated for several reasons. They lost daily contact with teammates, possibly friends and co-workers. They probably have fewer resources and bigger workloads.
• Company culture. People create and maintain culture. Remove the people, and the culture changes. Plus, layoffs leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. Employees will be upset and likely negative toward the company. It will have a negative effect on the culture.
• Productivity. Low morale, increased workloads and shifting cultures will likely cause dips in productivity. Employees might struggle to keep up with demand at first and maybe for some time.
• Innovation. As people start to focus on their own survival, there’s a chance they’ll become less creative about how to solve problems or approach work.
• Turnover. The irony! After forcing employees to leave, more employees often voluntarily leave after layoffs. It’s because they fear they’ll be let go next, so they look for jobs and end up taking them where they feel it might be more stable.

How to Help Employees with Survivor’s Guilt

“Survivor’s guilt runs deep in remaining employees, who try to prove their value by overperforming. The fear of being ‘last in, first out’ at a new company is a very real concern as many are trying to keep their current roles while silently cracking under the pressure,” says Amanda Augustine, Certified Professional Career Coach at Resume.AI.

Here are eight ways to help employees overcome survivor’s guilt.

1. Amp Up Appreciation

Let employees know how much they’re valued and their work and contributions are appreciated. In the rush to keep everything covered, basic appreciation is forgotten.

It needs to come from the top and front-line managers.

2. Align Expectations

Roles, responsibilities and expectations change in the blink of an eye during layoffs. Everything will need to be realigned quickly to help employees bounce back.

“Employers must ask employees directly about their expectations, whether it’s during all staff meetings, one-on-one meetings with managers or through anonymous surveys or feedback documents,” Pappas recommends.

3. Lean into Honesty

Leaders will need to continue to be fully honest with employees about the state of the company and their roles within it.

“Companies need to have integrity as a core value,” says Pappas. “To do that, you need a strong inner moral compass.”

Be mindful and transparent with communication. Make employees feel valued and heard by asking for feedback, assessing what they say and feel, and actually using that feedback.

4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

If you didn’t get the headline, let’s repeat it: Communicate.

Most employees usually think they’re missing out on company news and information. That’s why they probably felt blindsided by the layoffs. Going forward, you want to over-communicate.

Experiment with new communication methods. Or communicate every message across more than one channel. Send company updates every week. Invite questions every day.

5. Promote Collaboration

Companies talk about eliminating silos all the time, but it seldom happens. But a company that downsizes must do it because it needs more collaboration immediately.

So, create ways to increase collaboration. Try cross-department teams. Or add interdepartmental liaisons. Or just move teams physically closer together so they can collaborate more naturally.

6. Strengthen Relationships

Help remaining employees strengthen relationships with each other and their bosses.

Create opportunities to learn and grow together professionally and have fun together in more social, appropriate settings. Of course, don’t force social interactions if that’s not something they’re interested in.

7. Invest in Growth

The most secure employees are those who never stop learning. Invite employees to obtain certifications, join webinars, or shadow another department.

Give them opportunities to invest in their development at your expense. It will make them more valuable to your team.

8. Focus on Employees’ Wants and Needs

Finally, to rebuild culture after a layoff, strive to meet your remaining employees’ wants and needs. That might be with new, unique benefits, different work options, or evolving learning and development opportunities.

“They’re all key aspects of company culture that leaders can strengthen and expand,” says Pappas.