Why is the fear of a layoff so draining?
Fear of being laid off is stressful because it combines high stakes with no control. Your income, health insurance, routine and sense of who you are may all be on the line, and the decision rests with people you may never meet. You cannot solve the problem, and you cannot put it down either, so your mind keeps circling it.
Rumors, all-hands meetings with careful wording, a hiring freeze or a reorganization can keep that alarm ringing for months. Many people find the waiting harder than the news itself, because once a layoff happens there are at least concrete things to do.
What does research say about job insecurity?
The American Psychological Association's 2025 Work in America survey, conducted by The Harris Poll among 2,017 employed adults, found that 54% of workers said job insecurity had a significant impact on their stress levels at work. Forty-four percent were concerned that an economic slump or recession could lead to being laid off, furloughed or having their job eliminated within the year, up from 36% in 2024. Among those worried about a downturn, 42% said work stress made it difficult to sleep, and 36% said their personal relationships had recently been suffering because of stress at work.
The longer-term research points the same way. A 2002 meta-analysis by Magnus Sverke and colleagues at Stockholm University concluded that job insecurity has detrimental consequences for employees' job attitudes and health. A 2016 meta-analysis of prospective studies by Tae Jun Kim and Olaf von dem Knesebeck found that both perceived job insecurity and unemployment were linked with a higher risk of later depressive symptoms, and that the risk for job insecurity was comparable to, and even modestly higher than, the risk for unemployment.
What that does and does not mean
These studies describe averages across many people. They do not mean you will become depressed, and they do not prove that insecurity alone causes it. What they do show is that the worry is not trivial and that it is reasonable to take it seriously rather than telling yourself to stop overreacting.
How can you steady yourself while you wait?
Separate what you know from what you fear
Write two lists: what you actually know (an announcement, a date, a confirmed budget cut) and what you are imagining (that your team is next, that you will never find another job). Rumors grow in the gaps. Seeing the difference on paper often shrinks the second list.
Limit the rumor loop
Constant checking of news, message threads and hallway talk feeds anxiety without adding information. Choose when you will catch up on updates, and step away from speculation that only repeats what you already know. If worry has become a habit that runs on its own, overthinking and worry may help.
Keep doing your job well, within limits
Fear pushes some people to overwork in the hope of being spared. Doing solid work is sensible; burning yourself out to prove your worth usually is not, and layoff decisions are often about budgets and roles rather than individual performance.
Talk about it
Telling a partner, a friend or a trusted colleague makes the fear easier to carry. If the worry is straining things at home, layoffs and your relationship looks at how couples can face it together.
What practical steps make sense now?
Preparing is not the same as expecting the worst. A few steps can turn helpless waiting into something you are doing:
- Update your résumé and online profiles while your accomplishments are fresh, and save copies of your own work samples and contacts where you are allowed to.
- Reconnect with former colleagues and your wider network now, before you need anything from them.
- Look at your finances: what is coming in, what must go out, and how long savings would last. Money stress after losing a job covers this in more depth.
- Find out how health insurance would work if you lost your job. The U.S. Department of Labor explains COBRA continuation coverage, and HealthCare.gov explains Marketplace options after job loss.
- Know where official information lives. The Department of Labor's WARN Act page explains advance notice for qualifying plant closings and mass layoffs, and North Carolina's Division of Employment Security handles unemployment insurance. For questions about your own rights or a severance agreement, ask HR or an employment attorney.
If the layoff does happen
If the news comes, the first weeks after a layoff walks through what to do and how to look after yourself. Job loss and career change covers the grief of losing a job and North Carolina resources. If you keep your job while colleagues lose theirs, survivor guilt after layoffs is about that strange mix of relief and loss.
When should you talk to someone?
Consider counseling if worry about your job has been disrupting your sleep, concentration or relationships for weeks, if you are dreading every workday, or if you are drinking more to cope. You do not have to wait for the layoff to get support.
Laura Bass is a psychotherapist in Charlotte who works with adults facing job stress and layoffs in individual counseling; see counseling for work stress and job loss. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911. Return to the work stress and layoffs guide.
Common questions
How do I stop worrying about being laid off?
You probably cannot switch the worry off entirely while the uncertainty lasts, and trying to force it away often makes it louder. What tends to help is giving it a container: a set time to check updates, a short list of practical preparations, and regular time in your day that has nothing to do with work. Talking it through with someone also helps.
Should I start looking for another job now?
Many people find it reassuring to start a quiet search when layoffs seem likely, because it restores a sense of choice. It does not commit you to leaving. Weigh the time and energy it takes against how real the risk seems, and remember that a search started from a calmer place often goes better than one started in a crisis.
Do employers have to warn you before a layoff?
Sometimes. The federal WARN Act requires advance notice in cases of qualifying plant closings and mass layoffs, but it does not cover every employer or every layoff. The U.S. Department of Labor's WARN page and worker's guide explain who is covered. For questions about your specific situation, contact the Department of Labor or an employment attorney.
Is it normal to feel anxious even if my job is probably safe?
Yes. When colleagues are being cut, uncertainty affects everyone, not only those most at risk. In the APA's 2025 survey, more than half of workers said job insecurity had a significant impact on their stress at work. Feeling anxious does not mean you are being irrational; it means the situation is uncertain and you care about the outcome.