‘Get fired with me’: Why Gen Z-ers are filming themselves being made redundant (and going viral)

You could argue that it started with the “get ready with me” videos – users posting clips of themselves applying make-up to get ready while sharing deeply personal revelations. Everything is covered; bad dates, bad sex, terrible experiences with parents and even death and suicide – and often these most intimate experiences will become a treding topic. So it is no surprise that in our chronically online society, young employees are now sharing their most vulnerable work moments too.

Historically, lay-offs have been a taboo subject, often discussed privately in hushed tones. Where baby boomers and Generation X might have viewed being made redundant as a personal failure, my generation sees them as a regular, albeit unfortunate, part of modern work life. We have an unspoken understanding that our job will never love us back and this is our response to that.

The lay-off wave in early 2023, including 12,000 at Google, was the wake-up call that I remember. The prevalent LinkedIn posts like “On no longer being a Googler” highlighted how deeply personal identities are intertwined with our jobs. For younger employees, these mass redundancies risk creating career gaps with long-term effects. This was a significant realisation in my own career, motivating me to scale my business to leave corporate life.

The rise of social media is thankfully bringing these much-needed conversations into the open. People are treated unfairly at work; they can be bullied and rounds of lay-offs can be brutal and badly handled by HR departments and bosses who have to “keep to the script”. For my generation, being made redundant is evolving into a shared experience – and this is removing the stigma.

And this is important, because it’s the shame that many have felt about losing a job that has, in the past, given all the power to the corporations. Now, employees are getting to tell their side of the story. They get to own the narrative – sometimes reaching millions. Companies can no longer control the press tour their lay-off is exposed to.

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Sharing these experiences online is proving to be cathartic for my Generation Z peers. A notable example is Brittany Pietsch’s controversial lay-off video from her sales role at Cloudflare, titled “POV: You’re about to get laid off.”

We watch her as she props up her phone and explains to her viewers (over 70,000 and counting) that random 15-minute unplanned appointments have been appearing in her and her coworkers’ calendars all day. We then watch as she is told the news and then challenges her bosses about why they have picked her after she has received constant good feedback from her boss. While the HR managers stumble over their answers, posts like these hint at a broader healing process from the confusion of the reasons, or even excuses, for lay-offs.

One of the main feelings held by Pietsch – and many of those posting these videos – is their incomprehension of being let go after they have put in hours of hard work. As the “Anti-Work Girlboss” online, I’ve witnessed and shared this phenomenon, consistently emphasising the need to re-evaluate our work norms. And as employee engagement plummets, this shift reflects broader changes in attitudes toward career longevity and company loyalty.

The psychological impact of lay-offs, and their public sharing, cannot be overstated. For employees involved, it can be a source of stress and anxiety, yet also a platform for solidarity and support. For their peers, it’s a stark reminder of the volatility of the job market and why loyalty to a company may not always be reciprocated.

Feelings of guilt can also come into play for those who haven’t been laid off from a phenomenon called survivor’s guilt. This openness is reshaping workplace cultures, making them more empathetic and community oriented, though it also raises questions about privacy and oversharing. You may have even noticed since 2020 the rise of personal sharing on LinkedIn, a platform originally created for professional conversations. Being an online personality, I have my own experiences of oversharing about work online and find it works for me, but I can understand why some will be reticent, fearing it could harm them in the future.

The scary digital footprint was hung over millennials’ heads when they entered the workforce. Sites like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter/X can show a person’s entire digital footprint, so many felt pressured to keep a professional tone on social media. As Gen Z has been online at the scale we are at today since an early age, we tend to have a more lax approach to social media affecting job security. And we are challenging what job security even means in a way other generations didn’t perhaps dare to.

The rise of the “gig economy” and remote work has also influenced how Gen Z views redundancy. With more people freelancing or working in non-traditional roles, the concept of job security is always evolving. The digital nomad lifestyle, once a niche choice, is becoming more mainstream, now altering our relationship with traditional employment. We are creating our own job security by the knowledge that others won’t necessarily provide it for us. These #layoff videos simply shine a light on the truth of what many have to learn the hard way.

And by bringing the discussion of redundancy and how brutal lay-offs can be on social media, my generation is highlighting the importance of resilience and adaptability needed for modern careers. It’s not just about finding another job, it’s not even about finding your dream job anymore! While Gen Z is often labelled as “lazy” or “entitled”, these early lessons in being issued with our P45s for no reason are teaching us a few things about strength. 

As a generation we aren’t afraid of changing career paths when we need to – maybe even a few times across our career. We view career trajectories as fluid and temporary rather than linear and promising. And when companies start complaining that their young employees show no “loyalty” maybe they should start asking themselves why that may be.

Looking to the future, this trend could also significantly impact hiring practices. There is an increasing expectation for transparency and fairness in the lay-off process from Gen Z. Wouldn’t it be better for all of us if we were told that we were randomly selected in an effort to cut budgets than the vague jargon so many experience from HR managers? With the new transparency brought on by employees posting their redundancy meetings, I hope that companies begin to rethink these lay-off “scripts” which don’t help anybody.

Online communities, forums, and professional networks have become vital resources for those going through redundancy. How great is it not to have to feel embarrassed about something which isn’t even your fault? Now you not only have immediate emotional support and solidarity from your network, but it is vital in offering practical advice and job leads too. This collective approach to facing and overcoming professional setbacks is a silver lining in the cloud of what can be a traumatic experience for many. Let’s hope “get hired with me” will be the next big trend.

Have an interesting redundancy story? Let us know in the comments below