Layoff Day Field Guide

Prepare the room. Hold each conversation. Come home well.

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Use it before, during, and after any rapid-response event or high-grief day. It covers how to prepare the room, how to hold each conversation, and a five-minute decompression routine for the end of the day.

Before the room

Our three key next steps for this layoff.

Unemployment insurance:

Health coverage:

The next workshop or appointment:

Who prints the one-page “This Week” handout, and how many copies:

The person who handles anyone in crisis today:

Where our local crisis resources are posted for staff:

Our quiet corner for anyone who needs a minute:

In the room

Steady first: one slow breath, slow voice, eye contact.
Name the loss before you point to the bright side.
Ask about the most urgent worry this week.
Give one or two clear next steps in writing.

Hand off by name, not just with a brochure. The names and numbers I will hand off to:

After the room: the five-minute reset

Minute 1: Breathe. Sit still and take five slow breaths before you start the car or open your email.

Minute 2: Name it. One story from today that is still sitting with me:

Minute 3: Release it. Remind yourself, “I can carry their hope without carrying their whole weight home.” Pray or meditate, if that is part of your life, or simply let it go.

Minute 4: Find the good. One person I helped take a next step:

Minute 5: Transition. How I will come home well tonight (a long walk, music, a call, a quiet drive):

On the heaviest days, give yourself more than five minutes.

Prefer paper? The fillable PDF is on the Free Tools page.
From Words Worth Speaking by Jessica Pierce. Free to copy and share with your team and the people you serve.