#anxiety

I should be excited about the holiday, but I can't stop worrying. Knowing more layoffs are coming, knowing they could announce them any day now… It's hard to feel any festive spirit when you're waiting for that kind of news. This whole situation just feels so wrong.

I work in downstream engineering. The company Im interviewing with is in commodities trading. I’m not positive if I want this potential job or not, but I do want to do the interview and evaluate the potential offer. But for some reason I have this nagging that Exxon will fire me for looking at other jobs. Is that true or am I just being anxious?

While Verizon has a long history of failed execution from go90, aol, yahoo, hum, finance transformation, VGS, blue jeans, plus play, and even something as simple as RTO - Verizon does succeed at empty catch phrases. Better matters! Change energizes us! Go beyond! I’m anxious to learn what catch phrase our overlords will rally us around next.

For once, I’ll treat myself to complete detachment from work. I’m not going to think about it, I’m not going to get anxious about what might happen next, and I’m definitely not going to get wrapped up in the idea of possibly losing my job. I’ll spend some quality time with family and friends, watch a good movie, or read a book. This whole drama be damned. My reserves are at zero, and I’m just going to be good to myself.

Someone on my team left and took a pay cut, which honestly surprised me. The work here isn’t terrible, the pay’s fine, and the people are decent. I get the anxiety around layoffs, but I didn’t realize it was pushing people that far.

I am close to retirement, but constant cuts have made every day feel uncertain. I can’t believe that the final years of my career will be constant stress and anxiety about cuts. Getting through that will be harder than it should, but there ain’t much I can do about it.

Psych! I hope Penny has a holiday season full of heartache, despair, and anxiety. She has caused the same for thousands of people. She deserves the same. So many people laid off and at EJ hate her.

Even outside the broader workforce reductions, individual sites can be reassessed and cut out of the blue. That’s not exactly shocking or entirely new, but it certainly adds to the stress and anxiety. We already knew that employee well-being and basic consideration rank dead last, essentially nonexistent, at this wretched company. My thoughts are with the people who lost their jobs just ahead of Christmas.

In an email manager recommended to take PTO, CEUs, equipment reimbursement, etc. early in the year (2026). More worries.

I got cut in this round. My wife could easily lose her job in the coming months too, as her company is heading into a major round of layoffs. I keep hearing and reading stories about people who haven’t been able to find another job for months, even a year. I’ve been looking into other options for a while now, and it’s been a deeply discouraging experience. I know panicking doesn’t help, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the walls are closing in.

Seems like the world has gone downhill fast these last few years. Not just at work, but at home.

There suddenly seems to be fraud everywhere, people manipulating other people, people willing to lead children astray, possibly for a little cash.

You can't trust anyone these days. You can only do the best you can. Try to raise your family to have the right values, but with so much corruption around them, what can you do?

Even those places you think that are safe, maybe aren't.

Then, your workplace goes out from under you. You lose your job and there you are with just one more thing to take care of.

I joined Cigna just a few months ago, and I have learned that layoffs are a constant and there’s a new round always looming. I am worried that being one of the newest people puts me at the top of the list. Hoping someone can explain if this is the case or if I might actually be safe.

I am only a few months into my time here, and it is already sinking in that layoffs might be part of the landscape here, which has me more on edge than I expected to be so early into a new role. I am trying to get a sense of whether this is something people constantly brace for or if it is one of those things that happens in waves and then quiets down for a long stretch. I would like to know whether I should settle in and feel secure or keep my guard up because of the way things have been going lately.

Hi All,

Based in the EU so haven't heard too much yet. Have many of my IT colleagues been impacted? No doubt, we're next - i think people are just hanging in for their cheque, horrible place to work now.

I have been with Nike for a bit longer than 2 years. If I recall correctly, the rolling layoffs started just 3 months after I arrived at Nike! Since then, I have lost so many senior colleagues including a 10-year veteran , 18-year veteran and some one with 8 years at Nike. A handful of them also resigned.... I am constantly worried for my job security and if I have a job tomorrow. I am breadwinner with a mortgage....I don't know how much I could keep it together

What has it been likefor uKrewers?
Worldwide it has been the biggest cluster fu-k of a year with no regard to employees who do a lot at the coalface? Cuts galore, massive layoffs, quiet layoffs, senior leadership departing after a year. The new logo drop was done but seriously demoralizing for what has been done through the year. We all remember the FedEx scandal of 2024 ahead of 4th July. Damn, it's just a worrying and quite anxious time aboard the UKG ship.

What are your thoughts everyone? What lies ahead on this ship?

It feels like Exxon isn't the same place anymore. Everyone I talk to just expects the next change to make things worse. There's no real hope for things improving, just this constant worry about what's coming. It's really difficult to stay positive in this atmosphere.

I haven't been here long, but the company's public image seems to have taken a real hit lately. I'm starting to worry that having this on my resume might not be helping my applications. Maybe it's just my nerves, but the thought's definitely crossed my mind more than once.

Is anyone else tired of only being motivated by the threat of losing their job? It is absolutely draining to work this way. There is nothing positive left, just constant pressure and anxiety. We deserve better than this.

God knows how many jobs will be wiped out by the coming major reorg. This holiday season will be miserable for everyone, both those already laid off, and the rest of us stuck in a limbo. The economy is terrible, inflation keeps eating away at everything, and most of us can barely cover basic living costs. Who can survive being out of a job for longer than a month or two?

Back in January, I told myself I'd be out of Verizon by the following year, and I really thought that was realistic. Instead, it's nearly 2026, I've been applying nonstop, and the only real movement I got was almost being pushed out instead of leaving on my own terms. The job market's been rough for a long time, way longer than most people acknowledge.

This has been the worst role out of a Reorg in company history. Many people still don’t know if they have a job!

We know so little about what’s actually happening. The rumors are endless, and I’ve heard from several people that most cuts will wrap up by Friday, with a few lingering into Monday. But I honestly have no idea if that’s true.

Are layoffs happening that week?

I was laid off a few weeks ago, typically a very stressful blow to life in this economy and job market. When I got the news, the stress and anxiety drained from my body almost immediately leaving me with a sense of calm and relaxation I haven’t felt since 2022.

I’m sick to my stomach with this bullsh!t

More layoffs are coming around the mountain.

Happy Holidays

Good luck to all!

I keep hearing December 18th as a date for consumer group. Directors have a PTO block after , probably to do damage control. Also expenses need approved by that date. Anyone hear anything more concrete?

What about us lowly folks? Any idea which teams are at risk?
If you’ve heard anything, please share.

Commercial team today (immediate). Field sales teams tomorrow (future state). Need to right-size for the future. Q2 1NA launch on a large scale.
@aq+1kbzgjt4w

I was hoping that whatever happens, it would be done in one day so we can move on. But with how little info we're getting and how slowly things are developing, it seems this will be a week-long affair, at least. I'm not looking forward to all the stress and anxiety one bit.

https://x.com/LeadingReport/status/1997711038566027389

I was doing some tinkering with AI and thought to share:

⭐ 3. Set internal boundaries with AI pressure and dashboards

Dashboards are not reality.
AI promises are not reality.
The “push of a button” narrative is not reality.

But your body reacts like they are threats.

To protect yourself, create a mental mantra:

“Leadership’s metrics are not my emergency.”

Repeat it when:
• deadlines shift
• new reviews drop suddenly
• AI hype creates worker panic
• leadership frames scarcity as urgency

Your job is to contribute — not to sacrifice your health for an algorithm.

Let that number really sink in. I always rolled my eyes when people told me to "just be happy you have a job" while I was complaining about all the issues we face day to day, but seeing numbers like this makes me understand, at least a little, why they say that.

The job on its own is demanding enough, but knowing it could disappear any day adds a whole new layer of anxiety and exhaustion. Has anyone ever considered the revolutionary idea that employees who feel reasonably secure and actually rested might be far more productive?

It wouldn’t be surprising. Someone mentioned another 300 shutting down next year, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the final number ends up even higher. What’s really stopping them from shutting everything down and switching fully to the non-corp model? Either way, the uncertainty and anxiety just keep dragging on.