TikTok is home to cringey influencers, beauty tutorials and product dupes, and, of course, sexy Grinches. It’s also where Gen-Zers and millennials alike are building community by sharing how effed-up capitalism is because they, like many others, were laid off this year.
Not even the people in charge (hi, Mr. Powell) really know what’s going on with the economy right now, but some are forecasting a *gulps* recession in the next year. Already, major tech, media, and finance companies, from Amazon to Goldman Sachs, have started making cuts, leading to tens of thousands of brutal—and highly visible—layoffs. In a bygone social media era—say, after the 2008 recession—it could be humiliating to admit that you had lost a job, that your career wasn’t on track or that you hadn’t landed the next (ideally, “dream”) gig. But the youngest members of the workforce could give two f*cks about following social niceties. Maybe it’s because Gen Z and millennials are much more jaded—nay, pragmatic—about how our economic system fails us compared to generations prior (*cough* boomers). Whatever the case, it looks like TikTok will be the new watercooler where we go to commiserate about crying into our ramen and mass-uploading our résumés on Indeed.
These honest, vulnerable videos are refreshing reframes of what previously would have been experienced privately, shrouded in shame. Let’s face it—most people will experience joblessness in their lifetime, and now, thanks to TikTok, they don’t have to feel hopeless about being unemployed. Because, yes, getting laid off sucks, but losing your job isn’t a moral failing.
You might have seen some of these TikToks when they went live, when #TechLayoffs became a pretty big Moment on the internet. But now we’re a few weeks out, the dust has settled, the “#OpenToWork” labels have been added to LinkedIn profile pics, and there’s been time to process it all. Below, we speak to a handful of Gen-Zers and millennials about the cathartic experience of TikToking through their layoff—and if they’d do it again.
Megan Arroyo, 28, former technical sourcer at Meta
I went to TikTok because I honestly just kind of post all my thoughts there. It’s not just the highs. It’s also the lows. And I think that’s important. Because we’re human, and we have highs and lows.
Because the layoff was so fresh, I got to say what was actually on my mind and how I was feeling and kind of work through those emotions. It was very raw and vulnerable. I just pressed record and said what was on my mind. And I think that’s how a lot of people feel when you lose your job. You’re allowed to be sad. I’ve received some hate from my video. “Oh wow, cry about it.” “Get a new job like the rest of us.” Yeah, I’m working on that, but I’m allowed to be sad at the moment. Like Beyoncé, give yourself 24 hours to cry, and then you move on the next day.
Ashleigh Carter, 31, former newsletter manager at Barstool Sports
When I came into the office, the day I got laid off, I had this meeting on my calendar for 2 p.m. and when I got in there, my boss immediately said, “Look, we went through our finances and we can’t afford your salary. Effective immediately, your position here is done.” I was definitely in shock. I even asked, “Wait, am I getting fired?” And he's like, “No.” And I immediately started crying and hyperventilating because that’s my natural reaction.
I literally bolted out of the room, sucked in my tears for five minutes, grabbed my backpack, and did what I needed to do. I got on the street and continued to sob. And then I walked 40 blocks downtown and made a TikTok about it.
Afterward, I was reading through every single comment and everyone was so nice. It felt like everyone in the comments had also been through a similar situation. They had been fired. They have been laid off. So many people were like, “Oh, my boss made me come in all day. And then they fired me at the end of the day.” Other people were like, “I got fired, like. two months ago and I still haven’t fully gotten over it.” And I don’t know, it was very refreshing. I really appreciate those commenters because it made it feel okay.
Rudy Brown, 35, former UX research coordinator at GoodRX
I had just seen one of those “day in the life” videos. It was the most bizarre one that I’ve ever seen. It was a day in the life of a house girlfriend or something like that. She was just like, “I wake up, make smoothies, and then show that I did some work on my computer.” This is so bizarre. Look how easy your life is; look how nice your life is. I’m over here struggling. And honestly, what I posted was exactly what I experienced every single day.
I wanted to post a “day in the life” because it’s funny to me. I want to post this video because I want people to see what a day in the life is of somebody who’s laid off because you don’t see that, you know? Every time you see a “day in the life,” it’s something luxurious.
When I posted that, I wanted people to see what the tech industry is going through. And luckily for me, so many people were responding, saying, “This is exactly what it’s like.” You wake up and you think you have to go to work and you don’t. I had a little phase where I was having panic attacks, because I was like, how long is this going to happen? When am I going to find my next source of income?
But I can’t stress about it. I don’t want to stress about it—I want to make light of and try to build a community around this. I want to see if anybody else has experienced this, and I want them to start reaching out to other people. There’s always going to be something that we can laugh at any situation and thankfully, that’s exactly what happened.
Sarahi Pelayo, 24, former operations associate at Serve Robotics
It was on a Friday, the week before Thanksgiving, and I had conducted a company-wide meeting. And my manager said, “Hey, can you step outside for a minute?” He pulled me outside with my supervisor, and he said, “I’m so sorry to say that we’re doing massive layoffs.” As soon as he said that, everything kind of froze, and I couldn’t hear anything else. I walked back into the office, grabbed my MacBook, took everything out, grabbed the keys, and handed it to my supervisor. The whole time I was trying not to cry, because I’m like, “Oh my god, I just got laid off for the first time.” I eventually made it to my car and cried.
I decided to post it because TikTok has a good side and a bad side. I wanted to be real because you see so many TikToks being aesthetically pleasing. Example: I make six figures a month, I go traveling, I do XYZ. You also want to see people with real struggles like being laid off. Initially, I didn’t want to post it, but I knew I was going to resonate with people. You have to show the good and the bad of your life. Yes, I had a job. And now I don’t. And I’m sure there are going to be other people who resonate with me as well.
Alejandra Hernandez, 37, former recruiting programming manager at Meta
I posted the TikTok because I was still in shock, and it was helping me process what was happening. I was very intentional with why I was posting on social media because I wanted as many people as possible to know my situation so that they can help me. And surprisingly, a lot of people on TikTok contacted me. They dropped in my comments and they were like, “Let me know if you see anything at my company” or “here’s my company’s name.”
All we’ve ever seen is “Meta Lays Off 11,000 People.” But what about all those 11,000 people and how they’re actually impacted by this? I saw a video of a woman who was on maternity leave being laid off, right? These are real people that have been making big life decisions around their employment. I have six frozen embryos in a freezer right now at a fertility clinic that Meta paid for and now I have to make sure that my next employer pays for my fertility because that was how I was going to get pregnant. I don’t think people realize the downstream impact that these layoffs have.
These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Mel Curry (she/her) is the current assistant editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers everything from lifestyle to politics. You can often find her watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta or discovering local coffee roasters. Before joining Cosmo, she was an editorial assistant at Hearst Magazines, writing for Women’s Health, Elle, and more. Follow her on Instagram and the bird app aka Twitter.
