EP55: Caught in the Corporate Layoffs? 6 Regenerative Approaches for What Comes Next
Just been laid off? Don’t rush to replace one problem with another. Consider a radically different approach to career change — even when it’s been thrust upon you.
After another wave of corporate layoffs, thousands of people are facing uncertainty, exhaustion, and burnout. The system that promised security has once again shown its cracks.
If you’ve just lost your job, or you’re questioning the stability of the one you’re in, this episode is your invitation to pause — and reimagine what comes next.
Rather than panic-applying or polishing your CV, I share 6 regenerative strategies to help you:
Reframe what’s happening and release the shame
Treat redundancy as seed funding for reinvention
Rediscover your purpose and design work that truly fits
This isn’t about bouncing back — it’s about rebuilding differently.
If you’re ready to find meaningful work, purpose, and a path that brings life back to you (and the world around you), this episode is where it begins.
To learn more about the Meaningful Business Incubator, book a call here.
Listen here
Full Transcript
Alisa
Intro
Tens of thousands of people were laid off from corporate America last week.
If that includes you, or if it’s a terrible fear that’s keeping you up at night, this is your invitation to take a breath.
So many people are going to tell you what to do next.
The system will tell you to update your CV, panic-apply, get back on that treadmill, get back out into the job hunt, fix it as quickly as possible.
But what if that’s not the answer?
What if there’s another way?
Today I want to talk to you about what it actually looks like to take a regenerative approach to meaningful career transition — to use this opportunity to pause and really consider what you want from your work life. Whether you chose it or not, this might be your opportunity to build a meaningful business of your own.
If your career looks great on paper but feels wrong in your bones, you’re not alone.
Welcome to From Corporate Into Calling, your lifeline into meaningful work.
I’m Alisa Murphy, a regenerative business mentor and former startup CEO who walked away from corporate systems to create work that brings life. Each week I share stories, reflections, and provocations to help you recognise the signs of burnout and make a career change with purpose.
If work looks good but feels wrong, this is your invitation to get out of corporate and into your calling.
Welcome
Welcome to episode 55 of From Corporate Into Calling.
I’m your host, Alisa Murphy.
How cool that we’re at 55 episodes — I’m really proud of that.
This week we have to talk about corporate layoffs, because it’s been intense.
An awful lot of people woke up in the middle of the night to a text message telling them their job had gone.
And there’s also a lot of well-meaning advice out there about how to fix that situation as quickly as possible.
Today we’re going to explore what it might look like to take a radically different approach to meeting this moment.
The Reality
Let’s start with the reality of what’s happened.
Amazon announced 14,000 layoffs — some reports say as many as 30,000.
Many employees said they found out by a 3 a.m. text message.
The concept is so incredulous it’s hard to articulate: a 3 a.m. message telling you that you’re no longer required.
And they’re not alone.
In October, over 170,000 jobs were cut across the U.S., including more than 17,000 in the tech sector in a single week.
By the end of 2025, analysts expect job cuts to surpass 900,000 — the highest level since 2020.
Amazon says these cuts are due to advances in AI, which I’m sure feels great to the humans who’ve just been replaced.
Maybe it’s about AI efficiency, or maybe it’s about the nice little bounce in share price that tends to follow a mass redundancy announcement.
Either way, this clearly isn’t a one-off — it’s a pattern.
And it’s only going to get worse, because corporations like Amazon often lead the way and open the door for others to follow.
Now that companies can cite “AI efficiency savings” as a palatable cover for cutting human jobs, where does this end?
Meanwhile, the job market is brutal.
If you spend any time on LinkedIn, you’ll see a lot of advice about getting back in the game — tightening your positioning, doubling down on connections, staying visible.
That’s not bad advice, but it’s shallow advice.
It doesn’t address the deeper truth.
The corporate system most of us were taught to depend on for safety was never designed to keep us safe.
It was designed for profit.
And as soon as we, as employees, no longer serve that pursuit of profit, we become expendable — sometimes overnight.
A Different Path
If you’ve just been laid off, or you’re nervously preparing for that possibility, I want to offer you something different today.
I want to share six regenerative strategies for approaching what may come next in your career.
I know it hurts.
It’s deeply painful.
This isn’t meant to fix that pain or magically solve anything.
I’m not trying to gaslight you if you’re feeling devastated.
But with time, reflection, and processing, you might begin to wonder whether jumping straight back into the same kind of job — inside the same kind of system — is really what you want.
Maybe this is a chance to create a different kind of relationship with work, and the possibility of building it on your own terms.
Six Regenerative Strategies
1. Remember: It’s not your fault.
Corporate greed will always win out.
When companies put profit before people, workers become expendable.
That illusion of security disappears overnight.
This is not about your performance.
It’s about a broken system.
Take time to feel awful, to feel angry, to process what’s happened.
But don’t internalise it as personal failure.
It’s the system that failed.
2. Resist the reflex to rush back in.
It’s natural to crave relief when you’re hurting.
You’ll want to fix that feeling fast, to fill the gap.
Many people move too quickly without conscious thought about their next step.
They tell themselves that any job is better than no job.
If that’s your financial reality, that’s fine — do what you need to do.
But many people have some redundancy pay or savings, and can give themselves time to rest and reflect.
That reflection is vital.
Otherwise, you risk ending up right back where you started.
If nothing about the system has changed, why would it be different next time?
So pause.
Let the dust settle.
Then consciously decide what you want to be part of next.
3. Treat your redundancy as seed funding.
In startup language, seed funding is the early-stage capital that helps a new idea take off.
I want you to think of yourself like that startup.
Even if you’ve never thought of yourself as entrepreneurial, experiment with that mindset now.
If you received a payout or have savings, think of that as seed funding — money to live on while you develop your own idea or offering.
Start thinking like a founder.
How can you use it to fund exploration, testing, and development?
You’re not investing in a company; you’re investing in yourself.
How long will that funding last?
What milestones might you aim for?
What small investments could help you harness this opportunity — a course, a mentor, a bit of structure?
Treat it like real capital.
Plan wisely, and give yourself permission to explore.
The Meaningful Business Incubator
If this conversation has you thinking about what comes next — not just finding another job but building something truly yours — I’d love to tell you about the Meaningful Business Incubator.
It’s a six-month personalised programme where you design, test, and launch your own meaningful business or consultancy.
It’s for post-corporate professionals ready to turn their experience into meaningful work — the kind that sustains, fulfils, and contributes.
Inside the programme, we bring structure to your ideas, steadiness to your fears, and momentum to your next chapter — turning vision into action and calling into income.
If that sounds like the kind of guidance you need, send me an email: alisa@regenerativeworklife.com or book a call with me.
We can talk about where you are in your career and whether the Meaningful Business Incubator is the right next step for you.
4. Forget your CV.
Yes, I said it. I hate CVs.
Stop reshaping yourself to fit someone else’s job description.
A CV can never capture the full breadth of who you are, what you love, or what you bring.
This is your chance to rediscover what you’re actually good at and what excites you.
Those half-forgotten dreams and ideas that have been on the back burner — bring them forward.
Don’t confine yourself to what makes sense on a digital piece of paper.
That format was built to tick someone else’s boxes.
What if this is your moment to tick your own?
Ask yourself: what would you do if all constraints were removed?
Because in some ways, they just have been.
5. Redefine networking.
Everyone talks about networking, but most people dread it.
Connections matter — perhaps more than ever — but only the right ones.
Stop chasing titles or trying to impress the same corporate circle.
Be intentional about who you connect with.
Use this time to expand your idea of what work can look like.
Your LinkedIn feed is probably full of people who mirror your past roles and reinforce the same worldview.
Now is the time to find those working differently — freelancers, founders, community builders, regenerative practitioners, people whose job titles light you up.
Follow the sparks of aliveness.
They’re your people now.
6. Be radically kind to yourself.
You’re not just job hunting.
You’re reimagining your relationship with work.
That means deconditioning deep-rooted beliefs, soothing your nervous system, and reconnecting with your why.
Know what you’ll never go back to.
See the system clearly.
Decide that you deserve better — work that brings life to you and to the world around you.
Don’t expect yourself to sprint.
This is slower work.
Deeper work.
Real work.
Recap
Here are the six strategies:
Remember, it’s not your fault.
Resist the reflex to rush back in.
Treat your redundancy as seed funding.
Forget your CV.
Redefine networking.
Be radically kind to yourself.
This is a journey, not a sprint — but it’s an incredible and deeply fulfilling one.
Closing
If you’ve just been laid off, I know it hurts.
Take time to feel what you need to feel.
But maybe, just maybe, this is the first real opening for something regenerative to grow.
The end of a job isn’t the end of your story.
It might just be the start of your calling.
