As your manager informs you that you are being laid off, remember that he or she learned today that the incentive program has been cancelled for 2020 (except for Darren and his direct reports, of course). The horror!!
This is traumatic news for your manager, as this amounts to a loss of annual goodies in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. You may now be out of a job, but your manager may have to defer the purchase of that new luxury car and second home in Aspen, not to mention the 2 week European vacation. Your manager has to suffer that inconvenience in addition to zero salary treatment, no savings plan match and no extravagant business trips for the foreseeable future.
Therefore, when your manager notifies you of your layoff and seems out of sorts during the communication, you’ll know why he is really upset. Instead of selfishly focusing on yourself in that moment, reach out and ask him what you can do to make him feel better.
After all, he won’t remember you the day after you are gone, but the loss of his expensive toys...now that’s traumatic and will take some time to recover from.
We are in this together.