"Announce Your Engagement When You Walk In" And 19 More Incredibly Uncomfortable Things People Said You Should Do When Being Laid Off
Major companies across the US have been laying off staff left and right, which leaves employees in a tough and often bitter position. So, I was tickled in the most petty way when Reddit user u/Timor1ra posed: "Getting laid off tomorrow. They don’t know I know. What should I do to make this as uncomfortable as possible for my employer?"
Responses ranged from devious to morally questionable, but they are not meant to be taken seriously. Instead, we're just enjoying the idea of playfully getting back at companies that treat people like numbers. So without further ado, here are the most-liked replies:
Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.
1."Bring in cupcakes and tell everyone that this is the first day you’ve felt happy in months/years."
2."In my experience, one of the most confusing and uncomfortable things you can do to an employer is be super cheerful and chipper through the whole laying-off shitshow."
"I had a job where I was burnt out, frustrated, and utterly fed up. I wanted to get out and start my own business, but I needed a bit of a boost. Redundancies were announced, and I knew my head was on the chopping block.
Me: utterly freaking thrilled.
I cleaned out my desk in advance, walked into work the day of the redundancies with a song in my heart, and...management just kind of lost the plot. I beamed when a manager gave me the bad news, and he got upset... and seemed majorly pissed when I told him I'd already cleaned out my desk? 🤷♂️
It took me a while afterward to untangle why getting a positive response from me had such weird knock-on effects. I honestly expected them to be happy that I was happy and that there was one person they hadn't made miserable in the whole mess.
BUT... they expected tears and anger and a sense of loss from me because they were valuable to their employees, right? Instead, I was happy to be leaving, like I didn't care about being part of their organization at all. I wasn't giving them the sense of being important and beloved. I threw off their whole sense of self-value or something."
3."Brag about a baby on the way, and you just closed on a new house, and your sig other lost their job...hell of a week."
4."My wife, when told she was being let go, first asked to hear it from her sup's sup. Once in the office of the manager, she asked to have it in writing."
"They weren't prepared, and she sat in their office for 45 minutes, not looking at her phone or anything, just sitting there, waiting while someone drafted the letter."
5."Take a personal day."
"Get paid to put off their plans, and you can use that time polishing your resume, applying for jobs, and generally just fitting some 'me' time into your day."
6."The best thing to do is to let them know you already know but DO NOT reveal how you know. That there is a leak in upper management that will tear things apart."
"I’m not sure how big your company is, but I’ve been a manager...a reorg/layoff getting leaked, well that nearly destroyed an entire upper management chain; I watched the witch hunt (was too far down the ladder to be suspected), watched a manager, a director, and two C-levels eventually get canned in the aftermath."
7."Confide in your boss that you have been in a dark place, and coming into work has really saved you."
"Invite them over for a celebration of you moving forward with your life in a healthy way. Friend request them on FB, too."
8."Bring a gift for your boss. Maybe a cheesy World's Best Boss coffee mug à la Michael Scott."
"Slowly take it back while making eye contact when they then tell you."
9."Don't go in."
10."Show up late. They are assuming people show up early or on time. If you show up at 11 a.m., all the awkwardness will be in play."
"Not being in the office will put the stress back on them. HR will have the expectation of handling everything all at once, which is good for them. Extend their pain by showing up 2 hours after."
–Anonymous
11."This happened to a friend during covid: He went straight to HR the morning of with a complaint that he felt his boss was singling him out and borderline harassing him. Told HR that under advisement from his lawyer that he should talk to them first and not quit and pursue legal action."
"He was told to return to work, his boss was brought in and an investigation was started. He used the next two weeks to find a new job, he then went in to HR and dropped everything and quit. But he got a paid two weeks' notice."
12."Go in wearing pajamas. Look them in the eye and say, 'I know.'"
13."Bring in one of those sacks you carry over your shoulder on the end of a stick, then walk out looking all dejected."
14."Well, a petty revenge is to open up a few random cubicle posts’ caps and insert a few raw shrimp into each before replacing the caps."
"Within a couple of days, they’ll notice a smell; a few weeks, it’ll be miserable, and they’ll contact a cleaning crew who won’t find the source, so it’ll continue. For months, they’ll wonder how and why the smell became unbearable. The smell will eventually fade, but their memory of it will be yours to keep and chuckle at. Stay strong, my dude!"
15."Randomly go up and give them a performance review and state you're very disappointed, etc... And fire them."
16."Open up the conversation by mentioning you never thought they would find out about it and you are deeply ashamed. Then stop and apologize for hijacking the meeting, it’s their time."
"They will spend forever wondering what you did."
17."Act surprised that the person canning you is still there…"
“'Oh my god, Jeff, hey, how’s it going?' Shifts eyes nervously around. 'You’re… you’re here! Thought they let you go yesterday?'”
18."Play baby shark all day at max volume 'til you're forced off the property."
19."Announce your engagement when you walk in tomorrow and start excitedly talking about all the cool and expensive wedding plans your fiancé and you are thinking of."
20.And finally,
"Walk in with a Happy Birthday cake for yourself to share with the team to celebrate."
What are your thoughts on the tongue-in-cheek advice? Let us know in the comments.
