Chapter 12

Lasting Through Layoffs

The Problem

Something big is happening in the senior ranks at your company, and it can’t be good. You’ve noticed lots of closed-door meetings and heard rumors of layoffs. Everyone you know feels vulnerable. You’ve seen colleagues chatting up muckety-mucks and taking them out to lunch, but that feels calculated and phony to you. You want to keep your job—and ideally take on more responsibility if there’s an opportunity—but not by glad-handing the leadership team. How can you protect your career without sacrificing your self-respect?

Why It Happens

Even strong companies go through reorgs, for a host of reasons: CEOs face constant pressure to do more with less. New leaders want to put their mark on the firms ...

Get HBR Guides to Emotional Intelligence at Work Collection (5 Books) (HBR Guide Series) now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.