How to Rebuild Psychological Safety and Momentum After Layoffs

3 conversations that can help leaders reestablish trust with their teams and accelerate out of the curve

Reports of layoffs have increased in recent months, and they are likely to continue for some time. Some leaders may believe that the initial challenge of carrying out reductions in force, or RIFs, with care and respect for those being let go is the hardest part, but that’s really just the beginning.

While letting people go with grace is difficult, the more complex challenge leaders face in the aftermath is maintaining an energized and dedicated workforce that feels valued and safe despite losing coworkers and experiencing a wide range of emotions. How can leaders rebuild psychological safety and momentum and actually accelerate out of the curve after a layoff?

In our coaching work with dozens of companies that have had to navigate RIFs in recent months, we’ve seen that the teams that are able to bounce back the fastest are those that are having the right conversations. Three conversations in particular are most effective in moving things forward: those around fears, priorities, and purpose.

Conversation 1: Take time to acknowledge and discuss people’s fears

It’s always hard to see colleagues go. It can be disruptive and painful. To move through this period well, we coach our clients to create an emotional container for their teams. This means communicating proactively and compassionately, taking a beat to acknowledge the changes that have taken place, and honoring how difficult it may have been to lose colleagues. Be sure to be available for the full spectrum of emotions the events may have brought up for people.

One of those emotions will likely be fear. If left unacknowledged, fear can run wild and lead some people to behave in unexpected and potentially destructive ways. It can wreak havoc on performance, interpersonal dynamics, and morale. For leaders, this is the time to open up and name your own fears. A leader’s vulnerability can create an opening for their teams to name their own fears, learn to embrace them, and understand how those fears might be affecting them and their work. An organization that can talk about fear is more likely to surface other themes that might prevent it from rebuilding trust and momentum.

Conversation 2: Reassess the organization’s top priorities

Of the many fears people grapple with after a RIF, one of the greatest is that their workload will increase significantly. After all, if three out of ten people on a team are gone, what happens to the third of the team’s work those individuals were responsible for? RIFs don’t have to mean that remaining team members are expected to absorb all the work of their former colleagues. 

Instead, a RIF should be a time of radical prioritization and realignment. It’s an opportunity for senior leadership to get crystal clear about what’s most important for the long-term success of the company and the team—a time to have conversations about which initiatives will move the needle most and which can be put on ice. 

One of the leaders that we coach took this radical prioritization to the next level by naming the ONE THING that the organization needs to focus on to get the desired results over the next few quarters. This one thing became a “rallying cry” for the entire company and made it crystal clear for people deep down in the org where their focus needs to be.

Conversation 3: Remind people of their mission-critical value and purpose within the organization

Let’s be honest: Layoffs are often morale-killers. Afterward, people need something to believe in, and just saying “work harder” to your remaining employees isn’t going to cut it. Leaders who see the most success in these moments are those who consciously and proactively remind their teams of the larger vision and the importance of each person’s individual role in achieving it. 

Leaders often forget to remind people that the mission and values have not changed; in fact they become even more important in reconnecting people to WHY the work is so important at this time. Team members who feel a sense of purpose and connection to the bigger picture also tend to feel greater ownership of their work. They view their responsibilities—even new ones—more positively. They feel more empowered, engaged, and motivated. 

When held accountable, not just to their individual tasks but also to their contributions to that higher purpose, employees often feel a sense of pride and accomplishment they hadn’t tapped into before. In the companies we work with, we often see motivation increase in the months after layoffs when leaders get people quickly involved in solving the mission-critical problems facing the organization.

Accelerate Out of the Curve

It may sound counterintuitive, but after a couple of months, we often hear clients who’ve led their companies through RIFs in a conscious and compassionate way say that they and their teams feel lighter, more focused, and more productive than before. 

This is often because they (1) communicated with compassion and transparency and acknowledged people’s fears in the process, (2) clarified the organization’s priorities and their teams’ responsibilities in light of the layoffs, and (3) reconnected their team members to a greater sense of purpose, so their teams felt included, respected and, ultimately, excited to dive back in.

Layoffs will almost always dampen morale and momentum at first. But they don’t have to do so for the long haul. With the right leadership, many teams actually do much better after RIFs. Having these three conversations can help rebuild the trust and psychological safety your organization needs to get going full-steam ahead again.