How to Respond When Your Role is Made Redundant?

Spoiler alert: There is no “right” way to respond. Every experience is different, but after being on both sides of the redundancy table and supporting 50+ people through redundancy, I can tell you, it’s completely normal to feel a ripple of many emotions.

Trust is broken, future certainty is gone, confidence is shaken, connections are fractured.

In 2025, in response to the wave of redundancy announcements, I offered a series of workshops to creates a space for people impacted by redundancy to reflect on where they are today and start to explore what could be next. From the series of these workshops I ran, I can tell you, there is no magic formula to navigating redundancy but I wanted to share the top trends, in the hope they might spark some insight or offer some reassurance to you.

1. It’s OK to Feel All the Feelings

Coaching Question: "What is one feeling you're experiencing right now that you'd like to give yourself permission to feel without judgment?"

When your role is made redundant, it feels personal. Every person I've worked with has found themselves going back and trying to figure out what went wrong. Suddenly, everything certain in your career has been shaken up. It's normal to feel relieved and betrayed at the same time, scared and excited, frustrated and hopeful.

Give yourself the space and grace to feel all the feelings. Let the ripples come and know that they will pass. If you get stuck in one emotion for longer than feels productive, find the support you need to get it moving—whether that’s a therapist, a coach, or the right friend.

2. Consider Curating Your Community

Coaching Question: "What kind of energy and support do you need most right now, and who in your network provides that?"

Make sure the people you're seeking support from are actually serving you. Most commonly, people shared that after the announcement, they were planning to take a breather...and suddenly before they knew it, they were caught up in the panic of others, and frantically applying for any and every job. The pause in the workshop gave them an opportunity to notice this and often we laughed about how bad a fit those jobs would have been.

It's important to spend time with people who serve you—people who will allow you to rest, inspire you to think differently, or the offer hands-on support you need.

This is a moment in your life. It will pass. You’re not cutting off parts of your network forever, but if they are not serving you, simply turning down the volume for a few weeks to focus on what you need, will help you to stay focused on yourself.

3. Use the Opportunity to Reset Your Investments

Coaching Question: "What have you learned from this experience that you would like to take forward with you?"

A clear mindset divide emerged in the workshop groups that absolutely fascinated me. Of course, it is a generalisation but it struck me as a great example of how each generation can learn something from each other.

• Over 30s - “I have given everything to my role. I prided myself at being the best at what I did. I have set my life up so I am feeling financially stable and like I can give myself some space. I never really gave myself much space to think about anything else, looking forward, side hustles etc.”

• Under 30s - “I loved the job I was in because it gave me a chance to learn X, Y, Z skills. I am also interested in A so I have been running a business on the side and part of lots of communities. With this redundancy, I need to decide whether to invest more in my business or find a job that teaches me new skills.”

No answer is right or wrong. A redundancy is unexpected and can shake you to the core. But a shake-up isn't always a bad thing. The key to thriving is reflecting on what you've learned and using that to inform your future career and life investments.

4. Ask Yourself, What Have You Always Dreamed Of?

Coaching Question: "What if you let yourself believe for a few minutes that redundancy is a gift? What would you add into your life to move closer to your dreams?"

With so much emotion and uncertainty, it can feel impossible to think straight. A powerful tool is to give your logical brain a break and channel your creativity to find new energy.

Allow yourself some space to play and explore. Even for just 5 minutes a day, grab some paper, set a timer, put away your phone and start to doodle. Draw images and words that come to mind when you think of your dream life. No judgment or logic allowed—just let the pen flow.

In my workshops, we do interactive exercises to play with what the future could hold. It's been amazing to see a twinkle appear in people’s eyes and shoulders start to drop, as they embrace the space where any idea is welcome. Every dream is valid, and it can become a helpful pointer for your next chapter.

Final Takeaway

When redundancy hits, you can be left feeling disempowered and out of control. If you take one thing from these insights, I want you to remember that no matter what the change, you always have a choice. Thriving through change starts with you making a decision that you are going to take control of what happens next. No one is coming to save you. No one else's plan is going to give you fulfilment.

If you are interested in learning from a community of people navigating redundancy, keep an eye out for future workshops or drop me a message to how I can best support you.