Worldwide we are seeing an increasing number of organisations making job losses. In the UK, it is reported that in 2025, 315,605 roles were identified as at risk with total projected redundancy payouts reaching £477.7million. It looks like this will increase this year as there has been a 9% increase on 2025 in the first two months of this year compared with the same period in 2025.
When faced with job loss and the prospect of losing a regular income, it poses a threat to our personal sense of security. The fear of the unknown can leave us wondering how we will survive. With mortgages, rent and other bills to pay and families to support, the prospect of losing an income is worrying.
Job loss has been likened to the grief process, with the person going through job loss going through the stages of grief that someone suffering a bereavement goes through.
We often we let our roles define who we are. To lose that can feel like losing part of our identity. There is also the sense of loss of from no longer being part of something bigger than yourself. And also, the loss for the colleagues you have built strong relationships with.
Like anyone going through grief, it is important to let yourself grieve and come to terms with this significant change in your circumstances. It’s important that you adapt to the situation and come to terms with it, rather than resisting the change and allowing negative thoughts about it to consume you.
Worrying consumes a lot of time and energy and is emotionally draining. You are unable to change the inevitable happening, so whether you worry or not, it’s going to happen. How you view the situation will determine how well or not you get through it.
If you or your team members are facing job loss, this guide will help you and help you to support your teams through it. If you’re not facing job loss, share this guide as it may help someone else in your network.
Accept that it’s going to happen
By accepting it’s going to happen, it will enable you to start thinking about moving on and exploring what’s next for you.
Whether or not you agree with what is happening, or whether you think that things could have been managed differently, try and put yourself in the position of the organisation and view it from their perspective.
Whilst this may not lessen the blow, with perspective comes understanding and with understanding, you can find acceptance.
Acceptance frees up emotional and mental energy to focus on what comes next.
Choose optimism over pessimism
Having a pessimistic outlook closes your mind to seeing opportunities that exist. With every change comes opportunity but you must be open to see those opportunities. When my role was made redundant 15 years ago, I saw it as an opportunity to start my coaching business. I did an MSc Coaching Psychology and started something new and exciting. After 25 years, I left the organisation full of optimism and hope for the future.
Contrast this with one of my colleagues who was having sleepless nights and was worried and stressed. They didn’t know what they were going to do and they were scared.
Rather than viewing it as a door closing in your face, look at it as a door opening. Make a list of all the opportunities that could come about as a result of you losing your job.
It could be an opportunity for you to retrain and reinvent your career. It could be an opportunity for you to start that business that you’ve secretly dreamed of starting. If you’re worried about how you will cope financially, what measures can you put in place to minimise those financial worries?
One of my coaching clients was having sleepless nights, had blotches on her skin, and her scalp was dry and flaky – from the stress of her situation. Her organisation was restructuring and reducing the number of leaders. She had to apply for a role, and if unsuccessful, would lose her job.
She thought she would end up homeless because she wouldn’t be able to pay her mortgage and her house would be repossessed. I could see this was irrational, but because of the worry and anxiety, she couldn’t.
I asked her what she could do if she lost her job. After thinking, she recognised she had years of experience, and could get another one. I then asked her what she could do if she didn’t get a job straight away and she said – rent out her spare bedroom. She didn’t want to, but if push came to shove she would. That way she could still pay her mortgage.
This was when she realised she had options, and no matter what, she would be ok. This eased the pressure, she felt calmer and more confident, and she secured a role.
She told me after that people had said to her she was good at what she did and had nothing to worry about, but that only made her feel worse. She asked me why that was and I told her, it was because she didn’t believe she was going to be ok.
Once she could see her options, she believed she was going to be ok. This eased the worrying and stress, and changed how she felt, making her more confident.
Taking an optimistic approach to redundancy will make it easier for you to think creatively and identify options and opportunities.
Make a plan
Research shows that those who are supported through the redundancy process adapt better. What support do you need to get you through this? Is your organisation offering outplacement support? If so, take advantage of the support that is being provided.
If your organisation is not offering outplacement support, find the support yourself.
✔️Do you need help with rewriting your CV?
✔️Do you need to brush up on your interviewing skills?
✔️Do you need advice on how to start a business?
✔️Or do you need coaching to help you work through your thoughts and feelings about this change and/or to help you get clarity on what it is you want to do next?
Preparing yourself in advance for this change and making a plan will make it easier for you to adapt when it happens.
Build your network
Start building your network and tapping into your connections because there is power in the network. Attend networking events that expose you to people and organisations that you are interested in.
Make use of LinkedIn. Update your profile and join in discussions with your connections and those who you want to connect with. Use this opportunity to showcase your experience, skills, strengths, and expertise on the platform.
It is often through network connections that you can become aware of forthcoming opportunities.
If the worst was to happen, what could you do?
Those faced with redundancy often imagine the worst possible outcome, such as ending up with no form of income, or not being able to get another job. In reality, we are incredibly resourceful and can find a way to navigate through the most challenging of circumstances.
Thinking back over your career and your life, what situations have you previously been through where you initially dreaded the outcome? You got through that and you can get through this. What was it that got you through those? What support did you have to help you get through it? What skills and strengths did you draw on back then?
What can you learn from previous challenging situations you’ve been through that you can apply to your current situation to help you get through this?
Redundancy can be a scary time, full of fear, overwhelm and worry about what will happen in the future. It is this fear of not knowing and uncertainty that causes us to think and believe that we won’t survive. This then causes us to feel anxious about the change and become stressed.
However, it can also be an exciting time, full of new opportunities and possibilities. Whichever outcome it is for you, depends on the perspective that you take.
What one small action can you take over the coming week to prepare yourself emotionally or practically?
If redundancies are not handled well, the psychological impact can be long lasting for those affected. It can also negatively impact those who stay in the organisation with survivors’ guilt affecting them.
If your organisation is making job losses and wants to support staff through the process, I offer group workshops and one to one coaching that can help them adapt psychologically and make the transition optimistically, increasing their chances of finding a new role. You can contact me here.
Have you been through the redundancy process before? If so, what helped you to get through it?