It can be devastating for someone you work with when they lose their job or get fired. These ripple effects can also impact you and others who work with them. It’s like someone you see every day is there one minute and gone the next.
Do you reach out to a colleague after they lose their job? What’s the best way to do it?
It depends on your relationship. It can be awkward to reach out while you are working with the company, and they are not, but it helps to think like them. Before contacting a former coworker, consider these factors:
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Messages From Work Friends Are Very Likely To Be Appreciated
You don’t have to end your friendship just because the job ended. Bryan Creely, a career coach, said, “People can feel an even greater sense of betrayal to people they worked very closely with suddenly shun them. After he went through a layoff as a corporate recruiter, a colleague he worked with sent him a message to make him feel better.
Getting laid off is a humiliating, isolating experience, and friendship can help. When your friend needs you, you must be there for them. It’s best to contact someone within a few days if you have worked closely with them. Waiting two months is poor form.
Wait A Bit Or Keep Quiet If You’re Somewhere Between Acquaintance And Friend
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Garcia said your message might not be welcome if you weren’t close with the person who lost their job. She said, “One way to figure this out is to put yourself in their shoes. If you lost your job and didn’t hear from this same person, how would you feel?” Garcia advises waiting a day or two for “the dust to settle” before you reach out.
If You Are Close, Don’t Wait Too Long Or Dwell On Why Or How It Happened
Be supportive, but don’t get bogged down in the details. It may be challenging to bring up the fact that someone lost their job. In most cases, Sharone cautioned, despite hearing something was a performance-based dismissal, you rarely know what led to it, which shouldn’t deter you from reaching out. He said, “I would just assume you don’t know the full story.”