Layoff content is trending on TikTok

The Future. While many workers didn’t see the tech recession coming, fewer expected to get laid off. As more people lose their jobs, they’re turning to TikTok to share their stories and connect with others in the same boat. If their videos prove anything, it’s a meaningful shift in how people respond to getting fired… which may no longer carry the same stigma in 2023.

Vulnerability can pay off
The Information reports 57,601 tech workers have been let go from 185 companies since January 1st, according to Layoffs.fyi. With the TikTok algorithm promoting layoff videos in the wake of growing cuts, users who share their stories on the platform are going viral.

• Zac Bowling, a previous software engineer at Google, outlined what happened to him in a video that has been watched more than 123,000 times.
• Nicole Tsai, formerly a partner services program manager at Google, detailed her layoff in a video that has been seen more than 4.3 million times.
• Brit Levy, an ex-diversity, equity, and inclusion program specialist at Meta, posted a video explaining why she wouldn’t sign Meta’s severance agreement, which has been viewed more than half a million times.

Oversharing may not work
TikTok videos humanize tech layoffs in a way that faceless statistics don’t. Still, there’s a limit to how much someone can share before they violate NDAs, endanger severance agreements, or turn off future employers, warns The Information.

Going public with a layoff story might feel cathartic in the heat of the moment, but it could also lead to regret after the initial shock has worn off.