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Manifesting job security during a round of layoffs steady, not safe
Layoffs are happening around you right now, and nothing on this page decides who is on the list — no script does, and it would be dishonest to imply otherwise. If you haven't already, a union representative or an employment adviser can tell you what your actual rights and options are; that conversation matters more than anything below it. What this page can do is describe the steadiness that's still available to you day to day, and the parts of this genuinely in your control while the rest isn't.
- A full script for job security during a round of layoffs, written in the present tense and ready to read tonight.
- Shorter versions — one for falling asleep, one for the morning, and one line to carry with you.
- How to use it: Come back to this in the morning before work, or in the evening once the day's actual news is in, not the imagined version of it.
- The common mistake: Spending the hours you do have control over rehearsing the announcement instead of using them — the CV left out of date, a conversation with a union rep or adviser kept getting put off — changes nothing about whether layoffs happen, only how prepared and how supported you are inside them.
The script
Read it slowly, in the present tense, as though it has already happened. It is written to be spoken aloud, but silently is fine.
I get to my desk at the usual time and do the work in front of me the way I always have, because that's the one part of this entirely in my hands. I've updated my CV this week, properly, not in a panic — dates checked, the recent project described accurately — and I keep a folder of what I've actually delivered, dated, in case I need it fast. I asked my union rep a direct question about what happens if my role is affected, and I got a direct answer back, which settled more than any guessing did. I'm keeping half an eye on my savings, not obsessively, just enough to know where I stand this month. At lunch I talk to a colleague honestly about the uncertainty instead of pretending it isn't in the room — that's turned out to matter more than either of us expected. I do the actual work well, because it's mine to do well regardless of what happens next, not because doing it well guarantees anything. In the evening I close the laptop and let the evening be an evening. I don't know what the announcement next month will say. I know what I did today, and that I'm not facing any of it without information or without someone to ask.
Shorter versions
Two for the ends of the day, and one line to carry through the middle of it.
I don't know what next month holds at work, and tonight I'm not pretending I do. What I did today was real and mine — the work finished, the CV updated, the honest conversation at lunch. That's enough to let go of for a few hours. My folder of what I've delivered is saved and dated, ready if I need it. I let the uncertainty be there without solving it tonight, and close my eyes on the parts I actually did do.
I don't know what today brings at work, and I'm not going to pretend certainty I don't have. What I do know is what's mine to do: the work in front of me, done properly, and one practical thing today toward being prepared, whether that's a question to my union rep or an hour on my CV. I'm not facing this without information or without someone to ask. Whatever the day brings, I'll meet it having done the part that was actually mine. I start the morning steady, not safe, but steady.
I can't control the list, but I can control what I do today, and I do it well.
How to use it
Come back to this in the morning before work, or in the evening once the day's actual news is in, not the imagined version of it. This script does not decide who is affected by a layoff and makes no promise that it won't be you — if you haven't spoken to a union representative or an employment adviser yet, that conversation is worth having before anything else here, because it tells you what's actually true about your situation and your rights.
The mistake to avoid
Spending the hours you do have control over rehearsing the announcement instead of using them — the CV left out of date, a conversation with a union rep or adviser kept getting put off — changes nothing about whether layoffs happen, only how prepared and how supported you are inside them.
Questions
Can this script protect my job during layoffs?
No — nothing here decides who is affected, and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise. What it can offer is a steadier place to think from, and a nudge toward the practical steps — your CV, your rights, an honest conversation with a union rep or adviser — that are actually yours to take.
Should I tell people at work that I'm worried?
That depends on your workplace and who you trust there; this page can't judge that for you. A union representative or an independent employment adviser is a safer first conversation if you're unsure who else to talk to.
What can I actually control right now?
Your own work, your own preparation — an updated CV, a record of what you've delivered, a real conversation with someone who knows your rights — and how you spend the hours you're not waiting on news. The decision itself isn't yours, and this page won't pretend it is.
Have this written about you
The script above is written for anyone. Perla asks about your actual situation, writes it as a present-tense narrative and reads it back to you — in a calm voice or your own, recorded once. One ritual instead of ten apps.