Once upon a time, there was a naive and ambitious young lady who wanted to make a difference in the world, and in the world of work. This young lady thought human resources was the perfect place to do that. In her mind, HR was all about preventing harassment and discrimination, making sure everything was fair and everyone got a fair shot, and building companies where everyone felt comfortable showing up to work as their full self.

With her heart on her sleeve, she started her human resources career. Because she was good at building relationships, she did well — really well. HR was clearly her zone of excellence.

As time passed, she noticed HR was always trying to find new ways to brand itself.

This was the global business landscape of the 21st century. HR was no longer the record keeper or policy pusher. We were so much more than the “people people” or “people protectors” of an organization and certainly more than a neutral 3rd party or employee advocate in-house.

Human Resources was a Business Partner that helped organizations maximize their human capital. HR’s real value came from acting as a strategic consultant on all things related to hiring, engaging, and retaining the right people. After all, most company’s biggest operating expenses are their labor and payroll costs, so HR has the opportunity to impact the bottom line in a very real way.

Even though this was absolutely standard HRspeak at the time, this line of thinking made sense to her, and she was all-in. But the longer she stayed in the HR field, she couldn’t ignore one glaring fact —

**Like the rest of the world, Corporate worships power and profits.**

This is not to suggest that purpose-and-values-driven companies don’t exist. The market is full of well-intentioned individuals working in well-intentioned fields at well-intentioned companies. It’s just that most companies they’re typically competing against ruthlessly pursue power and profits at all costs.

Whether we like it or not, this is the current reality of the world at work that People-First HR Firms and Practitioners operate in. And in this reality and on this timeline, the same logic driving HR’s efforts to rebrand is the same logic that’s almost always behind large-scale layoffs —

People-related expenses hold too much power over the profitability equation.

In good economic times, this might not matter all that much. But when the market trends down and uncertainty is in the air, the fastest way for companies to safeguard their power and profits is to look at their people.

I'm not suggesting it’s the right place to start. In many cases, it’s a very shortsighted move. But in this world, it becomes the obvious place for firms to start when the profit equation gets out of whack.

People and our hefty salaries, benefits, and payroll tax expenses are almost always the first to go when it’s time to cut costs or *clears throat* raise performance standards to maximize productivity and efficiency.

Anytime you move into cost-cutting mode, it’s easy to focus on bottom-line savings forecasts noted on reduction-in-force planning spreadsheets. It’s not necessarily that anyone planning a RIF forgets that each line and each salary represents an actual human being with loved ones and bills to pay.

It’s not because HR is bad, companies are bad, profits are bad, or layoffs are always bad. It’s the way we’ve structured this system that deserves scrutiny. But if you’re trying to show savings to the shareholders, the Board, or, let’s say, the voting public, “efficiency savings” add up quickly when you’re slashing salaries.

Until all businesses are driven by and rewarded for accumulating something besides power and profits, people will keep coming in last.

After 10 years in HR, burning herself out trying to find her zone of genius, she left corporate life and became a socially conscious entrepreneur. But she could never shake that connection and pull to her former field, and her entrepreneurial journey eventually led her back to HR six years later. Only this time, it was on slightly different terms.

This time, she worked for herself, and now, instead of working in HR, she writes for HR.

More specifically, she writes for socially conscious HR firms that always have and always will value purpose, people, the planet, and then profit — no matter who is in office or what is trending.

Coming back to HR all those years later, a field that she still believes is trying desperately to positively influence the world of work, we’re still fighting to make sure everyone gets a fair shot. Still trying to make the case that everyone has the right to feel safe showing up as their full self at work. Some of the trends, tech, and jargon have changed.

**Some acronyms are even changing. But the work and the world are the same.**

We still live and work in a world that overwhelmingly worships and ruthlessly power and profits. In that world and in that game, it’s still impossible for the people to finish anywhere but last — as has become abundantly clear with the recent massive scale layoffs in the federal sector, which are only beginning to impact the private sector.

Depending on which data set you’re looking at, there have already been 190 companies that announced layoffs in 2025, and we’re only 6 weeks in. Some report that as many as 23,000+ employees have already lost their jobs to start 2025 in the tech industry alone. And now, apparently, notifying people that they’ve lost their job via email has become so much of a thing that it’s apparently old news, according to this Forbes piece, which is two years old already.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m the HR writer with my heart on my sleeve and my screen, trying to make a positive difference in the world and the world of work. And I’ve gotta say, I’m appalled, though not at all shocked, by the callousness that seems to have become the norm in the layoffs taking over our country.

Telling someone they are no longer employed is an awful thing to do in any scenario. I’ve had to fire, RIF, and manage out via PIP more people than I could ever count. I’ve counseled countless managers, employees, and small business owners on navigating these situations and conducting these meetings.

I always tried to bring as much empathy and compassion to those meetings as possible. Even in the cases where I agreed with the logic behind what we were doing, I tried to make sure everyone was treated with dignity. Even if the employee knew it was coming, they’re still human beings losing their income and, in many cases, their health insurance. Not to mention, it hurts being let go.

Losing a job can rock your confidence, making it hard to bounce back.

Even the immediate you’re fired for cause situation are scary, intense, and basically awful. Humans are capable of scary and intense things when they feel backed into a corner. And now their livelihood is at risk if it wasn’t already; hence, whatever prompted them to do the thing that led to them being fired for cause in the first place.

Having to coordinate with corporate security officers, many of who are ex-military or ex-law enforcement, is just not a good feeling. Even when everything goes smoothly, it’s pretty hard to go home and not feel like you’re experiencing an adrenaline crash.

And here’s the wild thing: I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a single instance of a single manager or business leader that I worked with over a decade who didn’t hate ALL of these situations, even when they agreed with the business case for the reductions or had well-documented performance problems.

They, too, are human beings with families and bills to pay. The good ones, and I was fortunate to work with a whole lot of good ones, often work ridiculous hours trying to make up the slack from a low performer and insulate their team from whatever is swirling above them.

In a world of work where it’s hard and expensive to recruit and retain good people, a low performer who at least is trained and onboard can be managed in a way that minimizes risky mistakes. For a manager pulling 80 hours a week and barely seeing their family, a body that does one thing out of 10 well is often better than no body. They’ve also gotten to know the people who work for them and are now letting go.

It’s hard on everyone, but there are things we can do to make layoff conversations more compassionate.

For starters, every time we have to tell someone their time and efforts are no longer needed, redundant, not good enough, or whatever the reason…we find a way to tell that person to live. If it can’t be in person, then hold the meeting on the phone or Zoom. But make sure it’s a conversation that happens in real-time.

Regardless of how we feel, show up the best we can to support the human being on the other end of the conversation. Because as awful as it is delivering these notices, receiving them is far worse. And we sure as hell don’t deliver this message via email.

Conclusion

In a profit-driven world, everyone’s job is always on the line. But just because we can acknowledge that this is the way it is, it doesn’t mean trying to find a better way is pointless.

Small, everyday actions can make a big difference. And the more of us who do that, the more of us who commit to putting people (and purpose and planet) before profits, the easier it is for others to follow suit.

Because here’s the thing: despite all the layoffs that feel like they’re just getting started and despite all the backlash against DEI dominating headlines in early 2025, every day, more and more businesses are doubling down on their values because the data is irrefutable.

Building a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and merit-based culture is good for business. And socially conscious is absolutely the new compelling, with more and more seekers looking for meaningful work that gives them a sense of purpose at companies whose values align with theirs.

If you’re ready to double down and let the world know you value purpose, people, planet, then profits, no matter who is in office or what is trending, then make sure employer brand storytelling content is high on your priority list this year.

Click here to learn more about my employer branding and HR storytelling services if you want help with that
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In the interest of ethics and transparency, I wrote this post with brainstorming and wordsmithing support from ChatGPT. When blogging for myself, I experiment with AI, a lot. Please note that I’m an affiliate with BrandWell and prefer their AI to others I’ve seen for long-form content creation. I may receive a commission if you use this link to sign up for any of their services. Post published February 2025.

A People-First HR Writer’s Reactions to the 2025 Layoffs