Loyalty Will Cost You: What Mid-Career Professionals Need to Know
Please don’t assume you’re safe from a layoff, whether you’ve been at a company for 5 or 25 years. Your blind loyalty will cost you, and unfortunately that’s the reality for a lot of folks when layoffs happen.
They think, “I’ve been here for 10 years, longer than anyone in my department, they need me. I’ve got all the knowledge.” Then, BAM! They’re hit with a layoff notice, and crying on their way out the door. They wonder, “How could this happen? They NEED me.” And having that mentality is part of the problem.
Never get comfortable.
An organization will always operate from a business standpoint and look out for its own best interests, and you need to do the same. In this post, I’ll discuss a few important statistics on how employees are impacted with layoffs and what you can do to prepare and put yourself in a better position to manage it.
The Quick Facts
Let’s take a look at the layoffs landscape. According to INTOO and the Harris Poll, more than 60% of employed Americans are experiencing layoff anxiety, up significantly from 2019.
In the second quarter of 2026, we witnessed companies such as META, Wix, Cisco, LinkedIn GM. and Intuit (to name a few), take an axe to nearly 153,000 tech jobs (and the year isn’t even over yet).
For those who haven’t been impacted directly, a study from Perceptyx shows many are still on edge: 33% are at least moderatelyworried about being laid off, and 28% admit they’re not at all prepared if it were to happen.
But wait. That’s not all.
Of the released employees, they found support wasn’t consistent: no single resource (e.g., severance, extended health insurance, or job search help) was reported by more than 36% of employees (severance packages).
This is a HUGE deal.
Not only do you have to worry about being laid off, you may not even get any assistance in helping you look for your next career!
But the problem lies not only in thinking you're immune to corporate bureaucracy, but assuming that the very same company will help you plan out your next move.
The loyalty tax is exactly why we adopt a life design mindset.
Now, let’s see what steps you can take to navigate the waters of uncertainty.
How to Avoid Getting Hit with the Loyalty Tax
The minute you get your beautiful new desk and chair, you need to get into consultant mode (no matter what your title is). It’s never too late to start (even if you’ve been there for sometime). You need to be observant, strategic, and tactical and most important, stay curious.
In other words, keep watch of what’s going on around you. Start reading any and everything you can about your company. Find out what’s going on in other departments aside from your own. What are the trends, skills, and possible alliances you should make? How can you explore and expand your current skillset? Are there volunteer projects, boards, or committees you can sit to learn more? Talk to other people. What are they seeing? If anything, pay attention to the signs so you know exactly when to get out.
And please, do not assume friendships, partnerships, mentorships or sponsorships will save you when the main ship starts to sink. You have to provide your own life raft. During your time of investigation and observation, you never know what you may see or experience that will open the door to your next opportunity.
The worst thing you can do during your time of employment is to wait until the last minute to start exploring your options. And that’s the whole point of life design. You plot your moves before the reckoning.
