Some stumble, steady themselves, and move on. Others carry the hurt for years, like an open wound that never quite heals. It almost always comes down to emotional attachment and how we think about work.
What We Say/Hear
We’ve all heard these lines. Perhaps we’ve said some of them ourselves.
“I can’t believe they asked me to go after everything I did…”
“I sacrificed so much for this place.”
“I treated them like family.”
And then the details spill out.
The late nights, the missed birthdays, the hospital visits postponed. And the personal sacrifices made in the name of loyalty.
Think about it: Staying in that story only harms you.
It doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t reverse the decision. It only prolongs the suffering.
“But They’re So Rich…”
Another argument often follows.
“The company is cash-rich.”
“The owner is a billionaire.”
“Why did they have to do this?”
This logic surfaces whenever a large company undergoes a layoff.
Take the recent Washington Post layoffs, which affected nearly a third of its workforce. Some departures stunned the industry, including that of a correspondent reporting from Ukraine’s war zone. It felt cruel, even incomprehensible.
But emotion doesn’t explain everything.
Two Truths We Avoid
Let’s address two realities most people need to know.
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Work Is Not Family
The sooner you understand it, the better.
Yes, you may build close relationships at work, care deeply about your colleagues, and may even feel a sense of belonging.
But work is not family.
If you chose work over personal priorities at some point, that was your decision. To believe that such choices guarantee lifelong protection is naive. When someone says, “How could they do this to me? Is this how family behaves?” — they’re mixing two worlds that rarely operate by the same rules.
It’s best not to confuse them.
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After All, It’s a Business
The personal wealth of a company’s owner has little to do with employment decisions.
Downsizing — often softened as “restructuring” — is driven by cash flows and survival. Make no mistake: It’s a business calculation, not a moral one. I once asked a respected tycoon about layoffs at his company.
He used the term “rightsizing” and said something that stayed with me: “Sometimes you have to sever a limb to save the body.”
It’s brutal, painful, but that’s how businesses often think.
This piece isn’t about judging whether that’s right or wrong. Our judgment won’t undo what’s already happened or prevent it from happening again. I wrote this to hopefully change the way some of us think, so that we don’t suffer when something unfortunate occurs at work in future.
What You Must Know
Detach your expectations from effort. Give your best, but don’t mortgage your identity to your job.
If there’s one mindset that reduces bitterness, it’s this: Treat work as work.
Do it professionally, honestly, and with pride. But don’t personalise outcomes that were never personal to begin with. If a family member is hospitalised and you still choose to go to work, don’t assume that decision buys you permanent immunity.
It doesn’t.
And it never did.
About Me
I am a thinker at all times. I see, I think. I hear, I think. I read, I think. Every weekend I write. I would love to know what you think.