How do you support remaining employees after layoffs?

You know you need to say something. You also know you’re not sure what you’re allowed to say, you’re not sure how you feel yourself, and the work the three colleagues did hasn’t gone anywhere.

This post is for that morning, and the weeks after it. It covers what the people who stayed tend to feel, what to say in the first conversation, who to check on and what to take off people’s plates. It isn’t legal or HR advice. For anything about process, contracts or what you can disclose, talk to your HR team or a lawyer.

What do employees who stay after a layoff usually feel?

Usually a mix of things at once: sadness for colleagues who left, worry about their own job, anger at how it was handled, and sometimes relief, followed by guilt about the relief. None of this is a sign that something is wrong with them. It is an ordinary response to a hard event.

The CIPD, the UK professional body for HR, describes this pattern in an article by Dr Madeleine Petzer. She writes that “survivor syndrome includes feelings of guilt, job insecurity, fear and anger towards the organisation”. She also notes that “others experience a feeling of relief that they have kept their jobs.” Both can be true in the same team, and sometimes in the same person on the same day.

Most people on your team won’t use the word “survivor”. They’ll say they feel odd, flat or on edge. Expect a range of feelings, and don’t take quiet as a sign that everyone is fine.

The people who left deserve respect here too. They didn’t fail. A decision was made about roles, and they carried the hardest part of it. The way you speak about them now tells the people who stayed how they would be spoken about.

Why does supporting the team that stayed matter so much?

Because how people are treated after a layoff shapes whether they trust the organisation, and whether they can do good work. It also matters because the work itself usually gets harder for those who remain, and that strain is real, not imagined.

In a Harvard Business Review article, Susan Peppercorn points out that the people often overlooked are “the employees whose jobs were spared.” Attention goes to the cost savings and to the people leaving, which is right, but the team that stays gets less of it.

There is research on what happens to them. A study by Mika Kivimäki and colleagues in the BMJ followed 764 municipal employees in a Finnish town who kept their jobs through a period of downsizing. The authors found that “downsizing was associated with negative changes in work.” Time off sick, with a doctor’s note, was 2.17 times higher after major downsizing than after minor downsizing. Changes in work, such as physical demands, job control and job insecurity, accounted for 49% of that link.

This is one study of one group, and it can’t predict your team. But it suggests a good part of the strain came through the work itself, which is the part a leader can do most about.

The CIPD article makes a similar point about trust. Petzer writes that “it is equally important to demonstrate investment in survivors,” and that fair, transparent treatment of the people leaving helps the people who stay. You may not control how the layoff was run. You do control what happens on your team from now on.

What should you say to your team after a layoff?

Say what happened in plain words, what you know, what you don’t know yet and when you’ll next update them. Speak about the colleagues who left with warmth and respect. Then say what happens to the work this week. Keep it short, and leave room for questions.

A few things help in that first conversation:

• Don’t wait for a perfect script. A short, honest conversation on the first day is better than a polished one a week later. Silence gets filled with guesses.
• Say what you know and what you don’t. People can cope with “I don’t know yet” much better than with vague comfort that later turns out to be wrong.
• Don’t promise what you can’t keep. If you don’t know whether there will be more changes, don’t say there won’t be. Say when you expect to know more.
• Be careful with details about people who left. Their reasons, terms and plans are theirs. If you’re unsure what you can share, ask HR before you speak.
• Let people feel what they feel. Avoid “let’s focus on the positives” or “we’re a stronger team now.” Give it time.
• Say something about the work. People are often quietly worried about what they will now be expected to pick up. Tell them you know, and that you’re working on it.

If you find conversations like this hard, you’re not alone. Our post on why managers avoid difficult conversations looks at why, and what makes them easier to start.

Who should you check on first?

Everyone, one by one, within the first week or two. But some people may need you sooner: those who worked most closely with the colleagues who left, those who have inherited their work, those who were close to being affected themselves, and anyone who has gone unusually quiet.

A one-to-one doesn’t need an agenda. Ask how they are, not only what they are working on. Ask what is worrying them. Ask what would help this week. Then listen more than you talk.

Some people won’t want to talk about it, and that is fine. You’re showing them that you noticed, and that the door is open.

You are not their counsellor, and you shouldn’t try to be. If someone seems to be struggling, or it isn’t easing after a few weeks, gently suggest they talk to someone they trust or a professional. Find out now what support your company offers, such as an employee assistance programme, so you can point to it simply and without fuss when it is needed.

What should you take off people’s plates?

Something real, and soon. If eight people’s work is now spread across five, it won’t fit. Decide what stops, what slows down and what can be done less well for a while, and say so out loud. Otherwise people will try to do it all and quietly wear themselves out.

Start by listing what the people who left used to do. Then sort it into three piles:

1. Stop. Reports nobody reads, meetings that existed for the old team, projects that were nice to have.
2. Slow down. Work that still matters but can move to a later date. Tell the people waiting for it.
3. Hand over, with help. Work that has to continue. Give it to a named person, with time to learn it and a clear idea of what good looks like.

Then protect the team from new requests for a while, even if that means pushing back on other teams or your own manager. It shows people that your words about workload mean something.

If your team has had a lot of change in a short time, our post on how to know there’s too much change at work covers the signs, and Change Load can help you see how much your team is carrying.

What does this look like in practice?

Here’s a hypothetical example. A manager leads a team of nine in a mid-sized company. On a Tuesday, the company announces cuts. Three of her team are leaving, including the person who ran the team’s customer reporting. Two others were in the group that was considered and kept. The company has said there may be a smaller second round in the new year.

She has the team conversation the next morning, on a call, with cameras on but no slides. She says something like this:

“I want to talk about yesterday. Three of our colleagues are leaving the company. They’ve been a real part of this team, and I’m sorry to lose them. That decision isn’t about how good they were at their jobs, and I’d ask us all to treat them with care in the weeks they’re still here.

Here’s what I know. The company has said there may be more changes in the new year. I don’t know yet whether that will affect us, and I won’t pretend I do. I expect to know more by the end of next month, and I’ll tell you as soon as I can. Until then, I’ll give you a short update every Friday, even if the update is that nothing has changed.

I also know that the work hasn’t gone anywhere, and some of you are already wondering what that means for you. By Friday I’ll come back with what we’re stopping, what we’re slowing down and who’s picking up what. Nobody is expected to absorb three jobs.

You might be feeling sad, or worried, or angry, or a mix. All of that is fair. I’d like to see each of you one-to-one this week. And if you want to talk to someone outside the team, our employee assistance programme is there, and I’ll send the details after this call.”

Then she stops and takes questions, without pushing.

That week she meets the two people who were close to being affected first, then the person taking on most of the customer reporting, then everyone else. She drops a monthly report nobody reads, moves one project to the spring and tells two other teams that requests will take longer for a while.

It doesn’t fix everything. People are still worried about the new year. But they know what she knows, they know when they’ll hear more and their week has room in it again.

How are you doing yourself?

Leaders often put themselves last after a layoff. You may have known before your team did, been part of hard decisions or had to tell people they were leaving. That takes something out of you, even if you think it was the right call.

Notice how you are. If you’re sleeping badly, dreading work or carrying it home every night, that matters. Talk to someone you trust: a peer, a mentor, a coach or a friend. If it feels like more than a hard few weeks, please talk to a professional, and remember that your company’s employee assistance programme is usually there for managers too. Looking after yourself isn’t selfish here. Your team will take its cue from how steady you are.

Where do you start with your own recovery plan?

Start with your situation, not a generic checklist. How hard the layoff hit your team, how much warning people had, whether more change is coming and how you are doing yourself all change what to do first.

After a Layoff is a free planning tool built for this. You answer four questions about your situation, and it builds a recovery plan with three actions in each of three areas: what to say, who to check on and what to take off people’s plates. It takes about 3 minutes, needs no sign-up, and your answers stay in your browser.

Please read it for what it is. After a Layoff is a planning tool, not a medical or psychological assessment. It can’t tell you how anyone on your team is feeling, and it can’t spot when someone needs help. It gives you a place to start. If you or someone on your team is struggling, the right next step is someone you trust, a professional or the support your company offers.

If you want to see your wider habits, such as whether you shield your team or stretch them, try The 42 Test. Leading Through a Crisis helps if the layoff is part of something bigger. You’ll find more help for hard moments on Moments that matter.

The people who stayed are watching what you do next. Say the honest thing early, check on them one by one and make the load lighter.