Some Workers Actually Want to Get Fired, According to a New Report – Here’s Why

Some workers are embracing rejection as redirection as they find themselves rooting for their own layoffs, according to Bloomberg.

With unemployment at a 54-year low per the U.S. Department of Commerce and a plentiful job market, with more open jobs than unemployed people according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, being out of work is less daunting for some younger employees who aren’t happy in their current roles and are looking for a sign to force a change.

According to a survey by the Harris Poll for Bloomberg News, nearly 20% of Gen Z and 15% of millennials said they would be happy to be laid off at this time.

RELATED: The True Cost of Employee Turnover During a Recession? Your Entire Business. Rethink Your Strategy to Make Your Top Talent Stay.

According to December data from the Labor Department, the ratio of job openings to unemployed workers was at a high of 1.9, and ZipRecruiter found that more than half of new hires found their new roles within a month, according to Bloomberg.

In one instance, Bobin Singh, 26, said he felt of sense of “jubilee” when he was laid off as a social media producer in Los Angeles, he told Bloomberg.

“My New Year’s resolution was to work less to have more time to do passion projects,” Singh, who now works as a freelance video editor, told the outlet. “Then I got a three-month severance, so I was like, ‘The universe is listening.'”

But this year has also been plagued with layoffs from companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, and more than 240,000 tech jobs were lost in 2023, per TechCrunch. Other industries like media have been hit with layoffs as well, including Vice which filed for bankruptcy and laid off nearly 100 staffers, and G/O Media which shuttered their Jezebel publication entirely, laying off 23 employees earlier this month, per Forbes.

RELATED: How Tech Leaders Should Approach Layoffs — and How to Build Trust With Remaining Employees

Some workers have been using this information to prepare for the worst. Josh Lumley, 43, was laid off from Amazon Web Services in January, but he started a new job the following Monday after starting his job hunt a month prior following rumors of job cuts.

“By the time I knew my job was getting cut, I was glad to get laid off,” he told Bloomberg. “I feel like I’m a good fit on the new team I’m on now.”