"Amen" at the end of the long day: Laid-off workers seek community and solace online
When Melanie Ehrenkranz, the founder of the 'Laid Off' Substack newsletter, launched her newsletter for unemployed workers in August 2024, she didn't expect to create a vibrant, active community of over 11,000 readers in less than a year.
In addition to the newsletter, Ehrenkranz also runs a Discord community, which offers its members additional ways to connect, support each other and navigate the uncharted waters of unemployment during the second Trump term. This community is private for paid readers at the monthly fee of $5.
While the particular kind of financial strain and psychological pressures that characterize unemployment have been around as long as there have been jobs, the scale of layoffs, the transformative nature of AI that is upending entire industries, stubborn inflation, economic uncertainty and new ways social media is connecting people again post-pandemic makes 2025 a unique time to be navigating the ever-shifting job market.
'This moment feels heavier,' Ehrenkranz told Salon. 'People aren't just getting laid off — they're getting ghosted, strung along, maybe even experiencing their second or third or fifth layoff in their career.'
Magenta Fox, one of the members of the community Ehrenkranz created, has been laid off since 2023. Fox says this period of unemployment is 'vastly different' from the other times she was laid off, in 2009 and during 2016-2018.
'With this search, I've paid for resume rewrites and interview coaching— something I've never done at any point in my career,' Fox said. 'And it seems like there's no end in sight. At least with the Great Recession it seemed like there was an effort in Washington to try to make things better.'
This time around, Fox found her interactions with recruiters more cutthroat.
'I've had recruiters no-show on calls and write rude emails— something I've never gotten from anyone, recruiter or no, in my professional life, ever,' she said.
The uptick in ghosting behavior from recruiters adds to the mental health toll job hunting can take.
'The psychological effect was really enormous,' said New York-based Dio Martins, who has been recently laid off and has just landed a new remote opportunity.
Martins found networking and connecting with friends helpful in his job search.
'It's incredible how helpful a little text message can be to someone, just reminding you that you're not alone, and to keep trying things,' he said.
As of late May 2025, U.S. employers cut nearly half a million jobs, which is a 93% jump compared to the same period last year.
So far, 2025 has been a brutal year for US employees. Major U.S. employers like Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Blue Origin, Estée Lauder, Kohl's, Southwest Airlines, Walmart and Business Insider have announced major layoffs ranging from hundreds to thousands of jobs.
Inspired by communities like Rachel Karten's Link in Bio Discord and Julia Harrison's Saloon Substack, Ehrenkranz wanted to remove the stigma from being unemployed and create a nurturing environment for those looking to get back on their feet.
'I noticed a lot of readers were using the Substack Chat to share their stories and ask for advice, and so I wanted to create a space that had more layers to it for people experiencing job loss to connect,' Ehrenkranz said. 'The intention behind the Discord, similar to the overall mission, is for people to feel less alone and to destigmatize layoffs. And also to have some fun and maybe make some friends.'
Over time, she noticed that members started using the Discord as a way to deal with the day-to-day pressures of job searching, both online and in person.
'I've seen people in the Discord share advice on how to post about their layoff on LinkedIn without it feeling cringe, how to wear their hair in a Zoom job interview, how to respond to a hiring manager that ghosted them after several rounds of interviews, and how to tweak their resume so it doesn't get trashed by ATS software,' she said. 'I've also increasingly seen folks trying to meet up outside of the Discord, whether it's in a vent session on Google Meet or grabbing drinks during the week.'
Ultimately, the mental health break and human connection is what online communities like 'Laid Off' offer its members: without the gloss or pretenses of traditional social media or the unproductive bureaucracy of an unemployment office.
'In this economy, finding full-time employment is like finding a needle in a haystack,' said 25-year-old Niya Doyle, one of the people Ehrenkranz profiled for her newsletter. Doyle made a TikTok about how she was laid off, one of many who turned to social media to seek solace from others going through the same experience.
'I just saw a lot of my FYP even before I got laid off,' she said. 'I guess it makes it feel like you're not alone. It's comforting.'
Whether it's Substack comments, Reddit forums, Discord communities or TikTok posts detailing their layoff experiences, more job seekers are finding comfort in numbers on social media, making their isolating experience of a layoff a little bit more palatable.
'They're the co-workers I wish I had, in a way,' Fox said about the Laid Off community. 'We exchange tips and share rejection stories. I feel like I can go there to vent without being seen as a bummer.'
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