'Survivor's Guilt': What to Say When a Colleague Is Laid Off
Suddenly finding out that a colleague has been laid off, many people aren’t sure what to say. For some, the instinct is to say nothing.
But ignoring the situation is one of the worst things you can do, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, in an economy in which law firm layoffs of attorneys and staff have become alarmingly commonplace, such etiquette advice, unfortunately, is likely to be useful to all too many lawyers.
As when someone dies, simply saying “I’m very sorry” or “I just heard the news and I don’t know what to say,” is helpful, according to the newspaper. Saying that you know how someone else feels or implying that they have reason to be angry, however, is not. Listening is more important than talking. And making arrangements, either individually or as part of a group, to say goodbye at a gathering of some kind outside the office, after the initial news of the firing has sunk in, is also a good idea.
“You might feel survivor’s guilt,” psychologist Kenneth Reinhard of Montrose, N.Y., tells the WSJ. “You have your job, and they don’t. But you have to understand that some things are out of our control, and keep it focused on them.”
Earlier related ABAJournal.com coverage:
Bloody Thursday: 6 Major Law Firms Ax Attorneys
Bloody Thursday Layoffs Also Hit Cozen, Epstein Becker; ‘Big Ones’ Still to Come
Why So Many Law Firm Layoffs in Just One Day?
A&O to Ax Up to 250 Lawyers and 200 Staff, Freeze Pay, Ask Partners for Capital
