Surviving a Layoff

The Writers’ Co-op

Today we’re talking about a subject that’s near and dear to Jenni's heart: getting laid off. At this point, being laid off feels like a rite of passage, particularly in the media space. Jenni herself was laid off in 2018 as part of a restructuring at her job, and she knows from personal experience how grief-filled the experience can be as you grapple with your work identity, anger, loneliness, and so much more.

But when we asked you about layoffs on Twitter, you also reminded us that there are incredible silver linings to being laid off! For many of us, layoffs pushed us into freelancing. And in freelancing, we found confidence, freedom and belonging.

In today’s episode, Jenni tells her layoff story. Then we get into the typical process – we call it the four stages of layoff grief and acceptance – that most of us will go through when a job disappears from under our feet. If you’d like to process along with us, you can find our survival guide worksheet in the TWC store.

Meanwhile, we’re wrapping up the official 4th season of TWC. Today we’re sending out our bonus episode to TWC members only – this one is all about perfectionism and it is so good! If you’re not a TWC member, you can always join us here: https://www.patreon.com/twcpod

But good news: We’ll also be releasing episodes throughout the spring on a monthly basis, before Jenni goes on maternity leave. And in the meantime, we’re also continuing to offer events, newsletters and more. If you have episode ideas or questions you’d like us to cover, don’t hesitate to drop us a line via [e-mail].

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in the book Burnout: https://www.amazon.com/Burnout-Secret-Unlocking-Stress-Cycle/dp/198481706X

You can find Wudan's article about journalism + identity here: https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2021/journalism-isnt-who-you-are-its-what-you-do/

Here's our business planning workbook: https://www.thewriterscooppod.com/resources/p/your-freelance-business-plan-1

And you can explore values in this book: https://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Work-Playbook-Navigating/dp/0451495675