The dangerous politics of layoffs
Mass layoffs are designed to divide and isolate people. It's a dangerous time. Organizations can and must do more to support communities.
Losing jobs without losing community
Before there were unions there were guilds and various associations of craftspeople. A lot of people have last names that reflect the jobs of their great great grandparents. Any Bakers, Smiths, Carpenters or Masons out there?
A job or profession is also a community. Even a temp job or freelance gig is going to expose you to people who you might get to know and stay in touch with. But many jobs – and most professions – last for years or decades. And you build friendships, networks and communities through the job.
Unions and professionals associations are formalized job-related communities.
One effect of mass layoffs in the federal government and elsewhere is to cause harm to the community of people in the agency or organization. There's some intention here, particularly in government layoffs that come with no preparation or warning.
Health and Human Services workers who find out they're laid off by not having their access cards work when they show up to work are immediately cut off from a community. They can't prepare. It's harder to access support for everything from benefits to finding a new job to simple empathy.
The ongoing federal layoffs are obviously a political act. But their potential to cut people off from one another, isolate people, and weaken communities give the layoffs a far greater political impact than most of us might expect.
What do we do?
It's incumbent on businesses, local and state governments, nonprofits, associations and civic organizations to open themselves up to community building, mutual aid, and job support.
Don't ignore what's happening and act like this is normal and everyone will just find a new job and go on like before.
And don't stop at acknowledgment, either.
Use your list and your ability to communicate with it as tools for supplying connection to one another, answering questions, finding resources and more. And make access open to all who need it.
You will build community, build the organization and you might even build support for your work.
top photo by Jeremy Cai
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