Employees who stay after a layoff feel survivor guilt, not relief. Leaders often go silent, but that backfires. Instead, add 15 minutes of Q&A to staff meetings, answer honestly about future cuts, and admit what you don't know. Your visibility matters to recovery.
The employees who survived your layoff aren't feeling grateful. A lot of them are actually feeling guilty. Survivor guilt shows up after layoffs, and it sounds like this: Why did I make it when my friend didn't? How am I supposed to face them next week? And here's what many leaders do after a layoff. They hide. Fewer conversations, a closed door, carefully vague answers. Avoidance is not a communication strategy. Do the opposite. Add 15 minutes to the end of your next few staff meetings just for people to ask you whatever they want or share whatever they want. You may not want to talk right now, but your employees probably do. Now, some of it will be uncomfortable. When they ask, are more cuts coming? Answer what you honestly can and admit what you don't know yet. The layoff already happened. Whether the company recovers depends on what the survivors watch you do next.
