Layoffs do more than drain your bank account, they shake your sense of worth, belonging, and identity. In this episode, Yowei Shaw, an emotional investigative journalist shares what it felt like to get laid off from NPR, why the experience upends identity and dignity, and how the social systems around unemployment actually make healing harder. We talk about the strange behaviors that show up before and after a layoff, how companies actually decide who goes (spoiler: it’s often opaque), and ways to recover. Get ready to rethink what safety, identity, and recovery look like after a layoff.

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In this Episode, You Will Learn

00:00 Meet Yowei Shaw, an emotional investigative journalist.

05:15 What it felt like inside NPR during the layoff month.

11:00 What changed at work during the layoffs?

19:45 Is HR your enemy?

22:30 Why intense shame is a common experience after being laid off.

25:00 Stigma and hiring discrimination against laid-off workers.

30:00 How losing the illusion can be liberating.

32:45 How identity changes after leaving a big brand and why that can be a creative opportunity.

An Exercise in Uncertainty and a Memoir of a Life Interrupted

The Next Big Idea Daily

Feel the pain to heal

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