The once-familiar office space will now seem strange to those still working there after a company layoff. Returning employees will look at the empty desks and feel disheartened and demoralized. They will probably ask themselves, "Am I the next one to lose my job?" This is a crucial time. The company must do whatever it can to support its current employees to feel more stable and secure in the new work environment.
During the pandemic, companies experimented with options to ease the trauma. They quickly adapted to compromises such as no-layoff pledges, furloughs, grants of extra personal time off and trimming executives’ salaries first. Their pitch was that they cared sincerely about employees’ welfare. That said, more recent rounds of staff reductions may make that message ring hollow.