The wrong way to survive a layoff with Steve Jaffe
Most people respond to being made redundant by immediately updating their CV and sprinting towards the next role. But according to Steve Jaffe — author, marketing leader, and four-time redundancy survivor — that instinct is exactly backwards. In this episode, Steve shares the framework behind his book The Layoff Journey and explains why treating job loss as grief is the most practical thing you can do.
What we cover:
Why a layoff isn't a career event — it's a grief event. Steve maps redundancy onto the Kübler-Ross stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), explaining why our brains process job loss the same way they process any major life disruption, and why understanding that framework removes shame and creates space to heal.
The myth of meritocracy and why it makes redundancy worse. Over 83% of Americans tie their self-worth directly to their career. When the myth that hard work insulates you from being let go collides with reality, the fallout is personal as well as professional — and Steve explains how to separate the two.
Radical acceptance as a practical coping tool. Drawing on the Serenity Prayer and his own experience, Steve unpacks what radical acceptance actually means in the context of job loss: not toxic positivity, but a shift from "what if" and "if only" to "what's next" — and why that single reframe changes everything.
How to deliver a redundancy message with humanity. Steve's advice for managers in the room: imagine how you'd want your own child to receive this news, and lead from there. He also explores the legal, reputational, and human cost of getting it wrong — including the Glassdoor effect and what layoffs signal to the people who stay.
The forced pause as an opportunity. Steve and Erica explore how redundancy creates a rare window for genuine career recalibration — identifying what brings joy, auditing whether your career path has longevity, and exploring pivots or upskilling before the next move.
The good conversation and the bad one. In Steve's bad conversation story, he tells an employee with a promising modelling career on the side that she must stay in the office during business planning season — a decision he still regrets. His good conversation story centres on a boss who told him exactly what he was doing well and why, at the height of the 2008 recession, and gave him five years of confidence from a single honest exchange.
Links:
Steve's website: https://www.thestevejaffe.com
Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide
Free Equation Builder: https://www.thecareerequation.com
Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call
Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna
Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach