[Clubber]

>I hate to say it, but I have to recognize when I’m without leverage. I’ll absolutely go back to the office if it means I have a job.

I think this might be part of the strategy of the current layoffs, to kinda push the issue with economic force. Who knows?

>several grueling months of unsuccessful job searching

Do you not have a network of people you can ask for work?

[mortenjorck]

> Do you not have a network of people you can ask for work?

This always used to be my lifeline. 2022 was the fourth layoff of my career, and each of the three previous times, someone I'd worked with previously got me in the door at their new place, and I had a job again within a month.

This time, I've had at least half a dozen direct referrals from former coworkers, and only one has even gotten me to a hiring manager interview. Brutal doesn't even begin to describe it.

As a consolation, I've gotten a bit of freelance work through my network, but since that reduces unemployment benefits, it doesn't really help pay the bills so much as it helps support my mental health.

[tessierashpool]

> I think this might be part of the strategy of the current layoffs, to kinda push the issue with economic force.

what's going on with the current layoffs is that companies overhired from 2020 to 2022, and now they're over-firing to compensate.

there's also a snowball effect to it, because if you see that you could fire your people and re-hire roughly equivalent new talent for less, that's very appealing for the kind of manager who sees staff as a cost center.

and there's also a real estate invesmtent factor, both in terms of ego ("I met with architects for a year to build our shiny new campus, of course you peons will be more productive where I can keep an eye on you") and in terms of actual financials ("we've been spending $X per year for property taxes on this empty building").

of course it's always going to be a blend of factors, especially in an industry where tons of research proved open plan offices were detrimental and open plan offices became the norm anyway.