🚒 What is driving MASSIVE tech layoffs? | Ep27 OoO

🕹️ CEOWorld: Elon is Remote Work’s Biggest Fan

😨 TechCrunch: Techpocolypse Layoff Numbers

🌊 Forbes: Lessons in Change

📚 HBR Remote Work Guide: Reading List Resource

Hey – Welcome Back!

Tech layoffs been on your mind lately?

They’re hitting some of the most talented people at the best companies in the world, right now.

🐬 Every day, people are waking up to ‘goodbye and thanks for all the fish’ emails.

Tech was once a fairytale. As it enters its villain origin era, remote workers are struggling to see the happily ever after among the chaos.

It’s episode 27 and this week I explore what Elon Musk’s latest move says about these tech layoffs. And whether his recent flip-flops indicate that remote work is playing a bigger role than anyone expected.

Keep reading and I’ll help you navigate these unchartered waters until both feet are safely on solid ground again.

Jump on board –

Elon Musk: Remote Work Hater No More

Once upon a time, a man named Elon hated remote work.

It was a dark moment in Silicon Valley history when he bought Twitter and banned his employees from ever leaving the office.

That seems like eons ago now, though it was just last year in November. We covered those dark times in two of our most popular episodes.

You can catch them here:

• ❣️ Elon’s remote work obsession
• 🧠 Elon changes his mind

Since then, he’s had a deeper change of heart. Flip-flopping faster than a fish fixed on a laser pointer – he’s embraced remote work with open arms.

🦀 Elon admitted that his big dreams for Twitter never included remote work, and that was a BIG mistake.

One of the most impressive things about Elon Musk is his flexibility.

Now he’s doubled down on remote work and has shut down two offices – one in Seattle and one in Singapore.

All the Twitter employees who worked there are now working from anywhere. He’s switched from pro hater to drastic enforcer, on the frontlines of the battle for remote work. That’s like Darth Vader choosing to become a Jedi again.

Dr Gleb Tsipursky writes:

“The fact that Musk – an extreme skeptic of remote work – acknowledged its cost-cutting benefits illustrates the future of remote work for the US economy. It highlights the misleading nature of many headlines that claim an impending recession would lead to the end of remote work.”

So, this episode isn’t technically about Elon – it’s about the context that led to his revolutionary change of heart.

There’s a recession on the horizon. You need to know how that’s going to impact you.

The Tech Reckoning: You Could Be Next

Let’s talk about how unstable everyone’s jobs are right now.

I remember a time when tech was one of the most stable and secure job options in the world! Last year, there weren’t enough good people around to hire. Now, tons of my friends are looking for work. It really feels like nobody’s safe.

The media is calling it: The tech reckoning.

I guess techpocolypse is a bit dramatic, but that depends on whether you’re one of the unlucky retrenched that has been forced joined the funemployment conga line.

This reckoning has impacted everyone.

Giants like:

📦 Amazon – 18000

🌐 Google – 12000

🖥️ Zoom - 1300

And smaller companies like:

👩‍💻 GitLab - 300

🍔 Swiggy - 380

🤳 Citizen – 33

And they’re not alone. There are hundreds of companies who have all decided that now is the ideal time to drastically downsize their workforce. This is impacting hundreds of thousands of people.

📉 Recession-proofing aside – no-one really knows why.

Sure, companies have doled out reasons like ‘growing pains’ but you have to admit that layoffs on this scale are extreme.

What’s really going on here?

Could Elon’s flip-flop be a clue that remote work has something to do with it?

Coincidence: Remote Work Steps Forward

This seems a bit too connected to be pure coincidence. These cuts and closures align perfectly with some key factors that are influencing business in a big way.

·        🗺️ Companies are starting to accept that great talent exists outside of the US

·         📈 Remote work is far more productive than office work

·         💰 It’s also a lot more cost effective

Let’s look at some rock-solid facts.

1.       💣 The COVID Growth Explosion

During the global COVID-19 lockdowns, tech went through a serious growth explosion. The pandemic might have been bad for retail, but it was brilliant for tech!

Everything scaled up – from teams and salaries, to online adoption and tech stock prices. In mid-2020, Zoom stock experienced a 700% gain!

2.       🚀 The Rise of Remote Work

The pandemic exposed remote work for what it really is, a superior model to cubicle farms. The world was closed, but business was open and booming.

Companies finally realized that people were happier, healthier and more productive when they worked remotely.

It sparked such a change in thinking that some companies began to wonder why they had offices at all. What were they for again?

3.      📊 Tech Enhancing Performance

Last but not least, shiny new technology has burst onto the scene transforming high performers into super performers. Just look at the rise of AI and other automation technologies – they’ve widened the gap between these individuals and everyone else.

The more technology we embrace, the easier it is for your boss to pick high value employees out of the crowd…and to spot the inefficient ones.

Things are changing, fast!

Elon Again: A Messy Lesson in Change

Elon Musk is a great example of what is currently going on in the world of business.

The man knows what he wants, even if he has to press all of the buttons to get it. There’s a lesson in that, and one we should embrace in 2023.

The world is messy.

We like to pretend that it isn’t – especially in tech – but hiding from the truth is a bad strategy. Say what you like about Elon, his business sense is sharp enough to cut through the bullshit.

And what he understands is that productivity is the key to surviving a recession. Those swanky head office buildings over at Twitter started to feel like dead weight.

So, on the one hand Elon has:

💸 Massive cost inefficiencies at his new tech company

And on the other he has:

😎 Remote workers who might accept a pay decrease to work from home

🤩 Who are happier in general because work-life balance improves so much

Hmmm.

Higher productivity, the option of lower pay, happier people and less overheads? Sounds like remote work could bring huge efficiencies to the tech sector.

But the flip side is that it’s going to happen to a smaller headcount of people than we thought. In the spirit of the moment, let’s make sure that you’re active about your response.  

3 Job Stabilizing Practices You Can Implement Today

If you’re worried about your job, here are three things that will help you become more earthquake proof now, or in your next role.  

1.     ✨ Expand Your Niche

First, step out of your niche.

The rule of three creates stability, so expand your skills in three niches to offset risk. Whether it’s showing three different functions on your resume, or expanding into three different industries – it demonstrates resourcefulness and adaptability.

When you cover your bases this way, you have more options when one of those niches dries up. Pick them well and when one industry stalls, another will hit a growth spurt.

2.     🕹️ Invest in Remote Upskilling

You should know this by now but – get better at remote working!

With every day that passes, remote work gains ground and is reshaping how we do business with each other.

It’s high time everyone and their grandma learned how to do it right.

I’m not talking about sitting in Zoom calls. Or frantically managing three chat apps, a project management platform and nine other real-time channels. No!

That’s a C+ at best. You need to become an asynchronous superstar. It will keep you working through climate change, pandemics and the occasional zombie apocalypse.

Make it a priority.

📖 Reading List: Adding useful resources to your reading list is an easy way to upskill. I recommend starting with Harvard Business Review’s guide to remote work.

You think you know, until you know.

3.     👀 Be a Visible Expert

This last one is hard, especially if you’re an introvert. But put yourself out there and publish online. Posting insightful content related to your area of expertise results in opportunities. These can be short tweets or an entire video series like this one.

Point is – visibility is a commodity.

Take the time to showcase your skills as a subject matter expert.

That’s how you grow a tree of opportunity that can shake fruit into your basket when you need it. If none of those things work, try sending an old timey recruitment company a gift basket. It’s a lost art and they’ll love it.

In all seriousness, Elon is right.

The tech world is messy.

The best thing you can do is invest in yourself so that when the tides reach in, they don’t sweep you away, they just take you somewhere new.

📢 Now I want to know – how do you create stability during this time of tech layoffs?

I’d love to hear any advice or stories that you have for our community. Leave a comment below and I’ll personally respond.

You never know when sharing a story will help someone sleep better at night.

That’s it for this week – and remember, the future of work is Out of Office.

Andrew

This Week’s Shareable

• What’s causing these tech layoffs? The recession? Elon Musk? Andrew suspects there’s a link between Elon’s massive change of heart and remote work. It may be the missing ingredient spurring these layoffs. Explore this week’s episode of OOO, and find out how to earthquake-proof your remote job. #remotework

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