Netflix, Bolt layoffs remind me how personal losing a job is

• As I manager, I’ve laid people off face to face and, during the pandemic, by phone.
• People get angry, become resigned, or break down unexpectedly over things like handing over their cell phones.
• Despite all my experience, I took my own layoff badly. It felt personal.

As the economy dips and layoffs emerge, I take comfort as a former manager in knowing I won’t have to tell anyone they are losing their job.

That’s one of the few upsides to having been laid off myself earlier this year. 

I was executive editor of the Omaha World-Herald after returning to my home state of Nebraska in January 2020 to lead its flagship newsroom following a 40-year career in daily news around the country.