How to kill the “last in, first fired” phenomenon
I could lie to you about layoffs…or not.
Have you ever been laid off or fired before? I have. And if you have, you're in good company since 40% of Americans have been laid off or terminated from a job at least once. And it’s getting ugly out there people. More tech employees have been laid off in the first three months of 2023 than in all of 2022. I wonder, though, if you feel the decision was justified or not based on the following historical context.
Most companies that have weathered economic downturns or periods of corporate underperformance do so by trimming overhead as a first or last resort. They make the tough decision to let go of valuable employees and they do it in a way that to some, may appear to be ethical and even logical. But as I’m about to share, it can be anything but!
Here’s how it often goes down.
We have this saying within the Black community, “last hired, first fired” that has come to describe the experience of so many talented individuals who found themselves on the chopping block. The history behind this phrase traces all the way back to the Great Depression (1929-1939).
Black workers were often hired into roles that were expendable or less crucial to the success of a company than more senior, skilled roles. This was by design as segregation was…still a thing, Jim Crow legal practices were still enforced, and the majority of workers could not find educational or occupational opportunities to advance beyond entry-level or low wage positions. This was true not just for workers of color, but also women, disabled, and openly queer folx too. Then when it was time to make cuts, the common choice for business owners and operators to make was to fire those who did not have the important position/title nor tenure within the company to help protect them.
Fast forward to today, and we see the disparities in hiring and firing practices still play out. According to Harvard Business Review, companies rely heavily on position and tenure when deciding on cuts, which translates to wiping out “most or all of the gains they’ve made in diversity.” You can see this problem most acutely in the tech world, where 80% of executive positions are held by white male workers and you see the most diversity in what are deemed “non-essential” roles.
And if you’re one of those “diversity hires” getting the boot, it can erode your confidence even as your competency remains intact. You start to think your work isn’t worthy to be respected and compensated for. Imposter syndrome creeps in.
It just all-around sucks.
So what’s a company to do when they find themselves needing to make the hard decision to let go of employees yet not be accused of “last hired, first fired” discriminatory practices?
And beyond that, what can you do to protect yourself as a worker?
It seems obvious but many companies don’t consider that instead of taking the easy (albeit detrimental) way out – using position and tenure as a deciding factor when making cuts – they should use a less efficient but much more impactful “performance reviews” strategy.
Now I know what you’re thinking. What about ‘affinity bias’ in the appraisal process, where people that look, sound, behave, and believe like the majority (read: white men) are judged more favorably? Again, HBR has this to say. “It appears that within the context of downsizing, the process of evaluating each manager on their merits creates awareness and accountability among executives, motivating them to think deeply about who they should keep.”
Here are some other ways companies can prevent destroying their important and impactful diversity gains:
Administering skills-based tests in the hiring process helps companies determine the soft, hard, and transferable skills of a candidate rather than relying on degrees or educational background that don’t necessarily reveal a candidate's fit.
Companies should build out diverse human resources teams charged with making sure leadership’s termination decisions are equitable.
Collect data on recruitment, promotions, and layoffs
And, most importantly, kill the “last in, first fired” policy altogether.
Now, what about you as an individual? What can you do to prevent a lay off? I agree with the points laid out in this CNN.com article and share the bad news that, well, you can’t. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a damn good worker, keep a record of all praises and accolades you earn, and build a network of external professional relationships that you can rely on should a pink slip come your way.
Now go, be great at work tomorrow and remember “last in, first fired” doesn’t have to be your fate.