TikToker Explains How She Predicted Layoffs Months Before They Happened, Reveals The Warning Signs You Should Look Out For
Interview
Amidst the Great Resignation, many people have recently decided to walk away from their jobs, teaching employers that they can no longer take advantage of their staff and hold them to unreasonable expectations. But recently, it has seemed like no one can win, even employees who decide to stand by their companies and continue at their current positions. In recent weeks, many major companies including Best Buy, Ford Motor, HBO Max, Peloton, Shopify and Walmart have announced layoffs. In fact, according to a recent survey from PWC, 50% of firms are planning to reduce their staff numbers, and 52% expect that they will implement a hiring freeze soon, if they have not already.
If you’re concerned about your job stability, we might have the perfect videos for you. Career coach Eve, or AdminandEve on TikTok, recently shared how she predicted layoffs at her job and explained how other workers can spot the warning signs too. Below, you can hear from Eve, from her videos as well as an interview we were lucky enough to receive from her, and be sure to take note of her tips so you can be prepared if your company starts putting workers on the chopping block too. Keep reading to also find an interview with host of the I Cry at Work podcast, Cari Anne Cashon.
Let us know in the comments if you have any more recommendations for how to see a layoff coming, and then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article featuring drama following corporate layoffs, check out this story next.
More info: TikTok
This career coach has been spilling all the details about how to predict imminent layoffs at work
Image credits: adminandeve
Eve shared a series of videos on TikTok detailing her recent experience being laid off and noting how others can spot the warning signs in the future
Image credits: adminandeve
Image credits: Anna Shvets (not the actual photo)
Image credits: adminandeve
You can watch Eve’s first video in the series right here
@adminandeve How to see the signs of layoffs before it gets to that point! #careertiktok #hrtok #laidoff #remotework #corporate #realestate ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
We reached out to Eve via email to gain some more insight into this situation. First, we wanted to know if her previous experiences with corporate layoffs helped her in spotting this one. “I absolutely was able to see this coming from a mile away only because I had experienced this twice before,” she told Bored Panda. “This was no different than any other layoff I experienced, which only reinforced that companies generally handle these situations the exact same way.”
“I believe this is because CEO’s and leaders are a specifically methodical breed who handle these situations similarly,” Eve explained. “Usually the steps are: 1. Realization, 2. Figuring out what can be cut to save the workforce (cut back on cleaning, culture/DEI initiatives, perks), 3. Shutting down any extra cash-saving projects or initiatives until after layoffs, 4. Deciding who is dispensable (since the other cuts are never quite enough), then 5. The actual layoffs.”
Viewers also shared tell-tale signs that layoffs are coming that they have observed before
We also asked Eve what her goals were in sharing this video saga. “There are 2 main reasons why I thought it was important to share this story,” she told us. “My whole platform’s sole purpose is to help folks navigate their professional experience, with an emphasis on helping folks transition their customer service experience into the corporate sector. It felt deceitful if I were to hide my own professional challenges since I strive for honesty and transparency with my page. Helping folks make informed decisions about their careers means also showing that sometimes even ‘stable corporate jobs’ are not always the positive experience or professional pivot people think they are.”
“Right now, it feels like everyone is being laid off, but the majority do not have the ability to do anything about it,” Eve went on to explain. “It’s also a generational mentality. To just accept the ill treatment we’re given by companies and to just move on quietly,” she shared. “When I told my dad about my video series, he said ‘back in my day, when people were laid off, we just dusted ourselves off and found a new job!’ This felt fundamentally wrong to me that companies are allowed to destroy our livelihoods and, in unfortunate cases, our lives, just because they scaled improperly (with absolutely no repercussions to the companies!)”
“I wanted to use my platform to give a voice to the folks who have experienced layoffs in the hopes that they can potentially learn how to detect these warning signs in the future, possibly saving themselves from this kind of experience,” Eve shared with Bored Panda. “I also hoped to strike a change within these companies, but am way less hopeful about that! It’s a better investment to equip people with knowledge than to reform a greedy system who does not prioritize people over money.”
Eve even explained how she knew exactly what day she would be laid off
@adminandeve Replying to @scam_lark tomorrow is the day 😫 #careertiktok #hrtok #laidoff #remotework #corporate #layoffs ♬ Rich Minion – Yeat
She shared her thoughts on the situation as well
@adminandeve The most heartbreaking part is, the leaders are genuinely good people. #CVSPaperlessChallenge #careertiktok #hrtok #laidoff #remotework #corporate ♬ Clair de Lune – Johann Debussy
We also asked Eve how she has been doing since the layoff took place, and thankfully, she reports that she has “never been better”. “Took some time for myself, went to Disney, and did absolutely nothing for about a month,” Eve told Bored Panda. “It was the best reset of my life. A month to the day I was laid off, I was offered an amazing opportunity at another company, which I start next week!”
“The most important factor I now seek out [in my employment] is: How will this role benefit ME, and me only,” Eve shared. “I used to try to see the bigger picture in terms of opportunity/growth and used to compromise on what I wanted because it (might) develop me better. NEVER again. I encourage people to be fully selfish in their job search, and if you have a bad gut feeling about a company, it’s okay to turn them down! If the comp, benefits, or even people aren’t aligned with your wants, there is NO reason to compromise. There are a million of the same jobs out there hiring right now!”
Just as predicted, Eve shared that she had been laid off
Image credits: adminandeve
Finally, Eve shared with Bored Panda, “I know my above responses about never settling or compromising for a job might get some backlash. I can hear folks arguing, ‘Not everyone has the luxury to turn an offer down, and I completely respect that. The only reason I was able to find employment so quickly is because I’m a professional resume writer, and my document was strong enough to gain the attention of 5 different companies in a week, after only applying for approximately 20 companies in total.”
“Searching for jobs is HARD, but if you have an outstanding resume, it honestly makes it a breeze,” Eve told us. “I encourage folks to show their resumes to the smartest people in their lives. Show it to friends who have the jobs you want. Show it to anyone who will take a look who you really trust! Make sure it’s a robust representation of you. You’ll know it’s a great document when the calls start coming through!”
We also reached out to host of the I Cry at Work podcast Cari Anne Cashon to hear her thoughts on this topic. First, we asked if she thinks layoffs can be predicted. “The biggest indicator of potential layoffs are budget freezes,” Cari Anne told Bored Panda. “One of the easiest ways employees at all levels can spot this is through hiring freezes. Another big indicator can be a company delaying a project that previously seemed like a priority for the company.”
“For employees that are responsible for some sort of expense budget like software or advertising, it can be easier to spot signs of uncertainty,” Cari Anne explained. “One of the biggest red flags is being asked to identify which expenses are ‘committed’, meaning the company is contractually obligated to pay that expense. If that exercise isn’t common practice within a company, it likely means they are concerned about their future financial forecasts. Other subtle signs might be general questions about your expense items or being asked to justify your expenses for the first time.”
She then explained exactly how it went down
@adminandeve Replying to @verovero3120 #CVSPaperlessChallenge #careertiktok #hrtok #laidoff #remotework #techtok ♬ original sound – Admin & Eve | Career Wiz
We also asked Cari Anne if layoffs are always preventable or if they are a necessary evil. “The layoffs we are all familiar with are largely preventable,” she says. “Generally, the ability to avoid layoffs is well within the control of company leadership. Company leadership has full control over the accuracy of their financial forecasts. The only real scenario in which companies lose that control is through macroeconomic forces such as the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“In early 2020, the tech industry, like many other industries, led rounds of mass layoffs because of the large economic uncertainty fueled by a global pandemic. While that round was outside of their control, the current wave we are seeing in the tech industry is simply a result of failed leadership and forecasting,” Cari Anne explained. “They couldn’t have planned for a pandemic, but they could have planned for a market cooldown.”
Lastly, we asked Cari Anne if it is possible to ensure that you won’t be laid off more than once. “First, it’s important to recognize that most of the mass layoffs we are all privy to, are led by companies motivated to increase profit first and foremost because of their ownership structure,” she explained. “Publicly traded companies, venture capital backed startups, and companies owned by private equity, are all motivated to increase short term profit. On the other hand, employee-owned businesses, small businesses, non-profits, or family owned private corporations generally aren’t as focused on maximizing short term profit as they are long term viability.”
“Do your research and ask questions regarding the ownership of the companies you apply to and consider those that aren’t as incentivized to put profit over people,” Cari Anne says. “Second, layoffs are a result of lack of vision by the company leadership. Financial forecast accuracy is the clearest metric you can use to assess how good the leaders of the company are at effectively planning and leading the company through the future. The more accurate a company is, the better chance an employee will have a stable future there.”
“Ask companies you are applying to about their financial forecast accuracy. Ask if they track and monitor the forecast accuracy of their financials over time, and how much visibility employees have to that level of accuracy,” Cari Anne told Bored Panda. “Get a general sense of how important it is to the company, and give extra consideration to those that seem to value it most.”
It’s wonderful news to hear how well Eve is doing post her layoff, and I’m sure her videos have helped countless others learn the warning signs for when they are in a similar situation. Regardless of how safe and secure you currently feel at work, it’s great to have this knowledge in your back pocket because we all know how unpredictable the future is. Let us know in the comments if you’ve ever experienced a layoff and if you realized there were warning signs after the fact. If you’d like to check out more of Eve’s videos featuring career advice and the full saga of her layoff experience, you can find her TikTok AdminandEve right here, and if you’d like to hear more wise words from Cari Anne, you can find her podcast I Cry at Work right here.
Finally, Eve shared some of her key takeaways from the experience
@adminandeve Replying to @okierican #WeStickTogether #MickeyFriendsStayTrue #careertiktok #hrtok #remotework #layoffs #techtok ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral – WZ Beat
Another sign not mentioned here is where you start getting shut out of projects, meetings, and other buzz that you used to be included in. That’s how you know you’re on the short list to be laid off. And watch out for mergers where the company that absorbs yours makes all kinds of promises that the jobs of employees of your company are 100% secure. Sure they are. Until the ink is dry on the acquisition paperwork. Then just watch how quickly your company’s people are unceremoniously dumped. Another sign is that they start bringing in more people, almost like they’re overstaffing the place. They’re not, they’re just training their people to take your job before dumping you. I tell you, it will absolutely make your head spin just how lightning fast it happens. You’re lucky if the job is not in a “right to work” (misleading name) state, at least then you’ll get severance. I saw my layoff coming, and found another job. The very day I had my two weeks notice in my purse was the day they laid me off, with severance of 6 weeks salary plus all unused vacation pay. If they hadn’t done it the second I clocked in, they would’ve only had to pay me the 2 weeks of my notice. I still took the two weeks off before starting the new job. Before the merger, it was a nice company to work for, but after the merger, it was all toxic s**t. I needed that 2 weeks off—-paid.
I think you might mean "At Will". At-will employment means you can quit or be fired for almost any reason. Right-to-work means you can work for a unionized employer without joining the union. The relevant laws vary from state to state and change over time.
Load More Replies...
Apparently its someone who likes to change hair color often, but just 1/2 of it.
Load More Replies...
Interesting. At my last job, there was a major shift in the dynamics of the office. Both HR managers either quit or took on a different role in the company, with no replacement for HR, or it became this hidden role where the only way to contact HR was through the manager, who relayed emails to scheduling and replied back. It became increasingly hard to reach a manager for simple questions, but used to be really easy to talk to them. In the last year, I was included in a briefing for a big project but never was put on it. Had hours drastically dropped. In my last 2 weeks of me quitting, I got monitored like crazy with a ton of negative feedback, but no monitoring forms to back it up. They were screaming for extra hours in the evening shift but it was like pulling teeth to work more than 4 hrs so I could boost my last pay. My 500 hour review I received 2 months ago was never gone over with me like it usually does. Glad I left that mockery of a zoo.
They hire my manager's sister , start cross training all of admin staff , gave sales people the ability to prepare their own quotes on the system without the need of an estimator , my manager went on vacation for a week while I took care of everything as usual , when she came back on Monday took the time to catch up on her emails and pending stuff , 10 minutes before the end of my shift they called me and I got laid off ... wish I have read the signs better I just bought a house 2 months ago , got laid off last Monday ...
5 of the 6 people (managers, human resource and supervisors) that were instrumental in hiring me were all let go in 18 months after I started. Human Resources manager was let go the day of the Christmas party, it started at noon, before I started in January.
In our case they rehired a manager that was fired before for not doing his job. He was, however, an accomplished interim manager who didn't care about people. Perfect to lay off the entire department. No one else believed me, not even when he scheduled a meeting with all of us on Friday morning. I made sure my mail and laptop were clean, work was checked in and ready to leave. He fired us all that morning. I was the only one not shocked and ready to leave immediately.
We had 2 big layoffs in the last 6 years thenlas one just before lockdown. How did we know? Someone talked. They were no signs, Projects kept going, there's no way we know if hirings are haulted.
One thing I noticed, through personal experience, is the senior management getting themselves new cars. That's a sure sign that they know the money is running out.
A company where I once worked would move unwanted people into a group to do a "special project." The project was always of an obscure and unlikely-to-succeed nature but was described as very important to the company's future. Six to nine months later the project would be abandoned and the whole team laid off. This happened more than once. Some people recognized the signs and found another job, but others would not acknowledge what was happening to them even when warned that they had their heads on the chopping block.
........... when your boss and his girlfriend come over your house with a bottle of wine
I can't stand the part where the company froze all positions except for "executive leadership." God forbid that the multimillionaires don't get their bonuses and stock options, but the actual workers are goners. Quiet quitting, my a$$. Leave the sinking ship! Buh-bye!
In 2007/2008 I worked for the Canadian branch of Linens 'n Things. My fellow grunts and I knew that the place was heading for bankruptcy when we saw notices in the breakroom asking for suggestions on how to increase sales and retain our customers. They were asking US, the guys stocking the floors. I quit in August. The company folded in December.
“Cross-training” one of you will be laid off, the other will be saddled with twice the workload, depending on who excels at the other’s tasks best. When you hear the words “cross-training,” its time to prick your finger and rub the blood onto your cheeks.
I knew something was up when the bathrooms became less of a priority (no joke!). We'd run out of TP by 3pm on Fridays with no backup rolls, tampon machine "broke," admins had to order soap rather than it being replaced by housekeeping, housekeeping cut back to 1 day/week, automatic lights would shut off quickly. So...you're in the bathroom at 3pm on a Friday, the lights have shut off and there's no TP. You somehow get it figured out and go trash your hands without soap. The company merged with another and I miraculously survived. Things are better now, but rather dicey for a bit!
This happened three times with different companies in my career: The employer had been growing, picking up new clients, hiring new people. The offices were cramped so they expanded to additional space in the building or moved to new, very nice offices. Within a year their luck would turn and they would be laying off the new hires and some of the veterans. So to me, new offices were a sign.
My layoff came out of left field in April. I'd been with the company for 4 years (real estate law firm/title insurance agent, I was on the title side). Real estate was not negatively affected by COVID, the market actually was going gangbusters by Q42019 and by early 2020 we were drowning in work that was not possible to keep up with. I was made asst manager of my department at the time. My co-manager and I did our best with the staff and resources we had but it was brutal and we constantly had to change/rearrange our priorities in the department. Then last Nov, my VP with whom I was once close, wrote me up (1st time ever age 42) after I missed a conference call with one of the partners due to a migraine attack. She was unable to answer his questions in my absence so she composed a bloated disciplinary form, in which she mentioned my chronic illness, and threatened my job, making it clear that I was inches from termination. (1/2)
Kept my head down and my mouth shut. There was little I could do and the market was slowing down so I was hoping that a paralegal position would open up at the law firm and then I would no longer have to work for this woman. March 27, that's exactly what happened. President (also the other partner) called me in his office to offer me a transfer. I jumped at the chance, trained for the position, had an intro call with my new client and a scheduled follow up. Up and running. Then Tues April 12th, he calls me back into his office. I'm thinking he just wants to check in. And then I see the head of HR come in. I was heartbroken. Especially when I learned that the old parallel wanted her job back and he obliged her so they unlawfully couched my termination as a RIF because my old VP wouldn't put me back in my former position. I'm still not over it.
Load More Replies...
Another sign not mentioned here is where you start getting shut out of projects, meetings, and other buzz that you used to be included in. That’s how you know you’re on the short list to be laid off. And watch out for mergers where the company that absorbs yours makes all kinds of promises that the jobs of employees of your company are 100% secure. Sure they are. Until the ink is dry on the acquisition paperwork. Then just watch how quickly your company’s people are unceremoniously dumped. Another sign is that they start bringing in more people, almost like they’re overstaffing the place. They’re not, they’re just training their people to take your job before dumping you. I tell you, it will absolutely make your head spin just how lightning fast it happens. You’re lucky if the job is not in a “right to work” (misleading name) state, at least then you’ll get severance. I saw my layoff coming, and found another job. The very day I had my two weeks notice in my purse was the day they laid me off, with severance of 6 weeks salary plus all unused vacation pay. If they hadn’t done it the second I clocked in, they would’ve only had to pay me the 2 weeks of my notice. I still took the two weeks off before starting the new job. Before the merger, it was a nice company to work for, but after the merger, it was all toxic s**t. I needed that 2 weeks off—-paid.
I think you might mean "At Will". At-will employment means you can quit or be fired for almost any reason. Right-to-work means you can work for a unionized employer without joining the union. The relevant laws vary from state to state and change over time.
Load More Replies... Apparently its someone who likes to change hair color often, but just 1/2 of it.
Load More Replies... Interesting. At my last job, there was a major shift in the dynamics of the office. Both HR managers either quit or took on a different role in the company, with no replacement for HR, or it became this hidden role where the only way to contact HR was through the manager, who relayed emails to scheduling and replied back. It became increasingly hard to reach a manager for simple questions, but used to be really easy to talk to them. In the last year, I was included in a briefing for a big project but never was put on it. Had hours drastically dropped. In my last 2 weeks of me quitting, I got monitored like crazy with a ton of negative feedback, but no monitoring forms to back it up. They were screaming for extra hours in the evening shift but it was like pulling teeth to work more than 4 hrs so I could boost my last pay. My 500 hour review I received 2 months ago was never gone over with me like it usually does. Glad I left that mockery of a zoo.
They hire my manager's sister , start cross training all of admin staff , gave sales people the ability to prepare their own quotes on the system without the need of an estimator , my manager went on vacation for a week while I took care of everything as usual , when she came back on Monday took the time to catch up on her emails and pending stuff , 10 minutes before the end of my shift they called me and I got laid off ... wish I have read the signs better I just bought a house 2 months ago , got laid off last Monday ...
5 of the 6 people (managers, human resource and supervisors) that were instrumental in hiring me were all let go in 18 months after I started. Human Resources manager was let go the day of the Christmas party, it started at noon, before I started in January.
In our case they rehired a manager that was fired before for not doing his job. He was, however, an accomplished interim manager who didn't care about people. Perfect to lay off the entire department. No one else believed me, not even when he scheduled a meeting with all of us on Friday morning. I made sure my mail and laptop were clean, work was checked in and ready to leave. He fired us all that morning. I was the only one not shocked and ready to leave immediately.
We had 2 big layoffs in the last 6 years thenlas one just before lockdown. How did we know? Someone talked. They were no signs, Projects kept going, there's no way we know if hirings are haulted.
One thing I noticed, through personal experience, is the senior management getting themselves new cars. That's a sure sign that they know the money is running out.
A company where I once worked would move unwanted people into a group to do a "special project." The project was always of an obscure and unlikely-to-succeed nature but was described as very important to the company's future. Six to nine months later the project would be abandoned and the whole team laid off. This happened more than once. Some people recognized the signs and found another job, but others would not acknowledge what was happening to them even when warned that they had their heads on the chopping block.
........... when your boss and his girlfriend come over your house with a bottle of wine
I can't stand the part where the company froze all positions except for "executive leadership." God forbid that the multimillionaires don't get their bonuses and stock options, but the actual workers are goners. Quiet quitting, my a$$. Leave the sinking ship! Buh-bye!
In 2007/2008 I worked for the Canadian branch of Linens 'n Things. My fellow grunts and I knew that the place was heading for bankruptcy when we saw notices in the breakroom asking for suggestions on how to increase sales and retain our customers. They were asking US, the guys stocking the floors. I quit in August. The company folded in December.
“Cross-training” one of you will be laid off, the other will be saddled with twice the workload, depending on who excels at the other’s tasks best. When you hear the words “cross-training,” its time to prick your finger and rub the blood onto your cheeks.
I knew something was up when the bathrooms became less of a priority (no joke!). We'd run out of TP by 3pm on Fridays with no backup rolls, tampon machine "broke," admins had to order soap rather than it being replaced by housekeeping, housekeeping cut back to 1 day/week, automatic lights would shut off quickly. So...you're in the bathroom at 3pm on a Friday, the lights have shut off and there's no TP. You somehow get it figured out and go trash your hands without soap. The company merged with another and I miraculously survived. Things are better now, but rather dicey for a bit!
This happened three times with different companies in my career: The employer had been growing, picking up new clients, hiring new people. The offices were cramped so they expanded to additional space in the building or moved to new, very nice offices. Within a year their luck would turn and they would be laying off the new hires and some of the veterans. So to me, new offices were a sign.
My layoff came out of left field in April. I'd been with the company for 4 years (real estate law firm/title insurance agent, I was on the title side). Real estate was not negatively affected by COVID, the market actually was going gangbusters by Q42019 and by early 2020 we were drowning in work that was not possible to keep up with. I was made asst manager of my department at the time. My co-manager and I did our best with the staff and resources we had but it was brutal and we constantly had to change/rearrange our priorities in the department. Then last Nov, my VP with whom I was once close, wrote me up (1st time ever age 42) after I missed a conference call with one of the partners due to a migraine attack. She was unable to answer his questions in my absence so she composed a bloated disciplinary form, in which she mentioned my chronic illness, and threatened my job, making it clear that I was inches from termination. (1/2)
Kept my head down and my mouth shut. There was little I could do and the market was slowing down so I was hoping that a paralegal position would open up at the law firm and then I would no longer have to work for this woman. March 27, that's exactly what happened. President (also the other partner) called me in his office to offer me a transfer. I jumped at the chance, trained for the position, had an intro call with my new client and a scheduled follow up. Up and running. Then Tues April 12th, he calls me back into his office. I'm thinking he just wants to check in. And then I see the head of HR come in. I was heartbroken. Especially when I learned that the old parallel wanted her job back and he obliged her so they unlawfully couched my termination as a RIF because my old VP wouldn't put me back in my former position. I'm still not over it.
Load More Replies...
58
26