Jack’s Empowerment and Inspiration: 46. COULD GOOD WORKERS BE MADE REDUNDANT? redundancy empowerment - empowering redundant workers

Saturday, 22 November 2025

46. COULD GOOD WORKERS BE MADE REDUNDANT? redundancy empowerment - empowering redundant workers - empowering redundant staff

46. COULD GOOD WORKERS BE MADE REDUNDANT? redundancy empowerment - empowering redundant workers - empowering redundant staff - empowering redundant employees - making redundancy work for you - is redundancy a dead end? - is redundancy the end of the road? - making the most of redundancy - empowering the redundant worker - Jack Lookman - Rita Nnamani - Olayinka Carew - Jack Lookman Limited - Amebo - Ire o - Ire kabiti - Empowerment and Inspiration - Empowering And Inspiring Generations - Yinka Carew - Olayinka Carew aka Jack Lookman

Many UK workers are caught aback when redundancy notices arrive on their desk, and their initial inclination is to assume it indicates something about their competence, effectiveness, or workplace attitude. It rarely happens like that. Redundancy is frequently a cold business choice unrelated to who you are or how well you have performed. It is institutional reasoning, not personal evaluation, and the sooner you recognise this, the faster you may regain your footing and go on to your next opportunity.

When a company no longer requires a role, the individual in that role is impacted, even if they have given great outcomes for years. Boards restructure divisions, integrate services, or reassign duties because they consider finances, long-term strategy shifts, and operational efficiency. Many workers discover that their redundancy was triggered by forces such as automation, relocation of functions, mergers, reduced demand, or senior leadership changes. These decisions are usually unrelated to the competence of those impacted. Some of the most diligent and reliable professionals in the UK job market have been made redundant simply because their unit was dissolved or absorbed into another.

The misconception that strong employees are safe creates a painful shock when it happens. The truth is that highly skilled workers are sometimes the first to be affected because their positions sit at decision-making layers that are vulnerable during restructuring. Their salaries are often higher, which makes those roles visible targets when a company tries to save costs. Their responsibilities can also be spread across junior staff or outsourced. None of this means the worker lacked value. It simply means the organisation recalibrated in ways that did not include their particular post.

It helps emotionally to understand that businesses operate strategically rather than relationally. They make decisions based on financial forecasts, market shifts and operational demands. They do not always keep people because they are “good”; they keep roles that fit into the next phase of their agenda. When that strategy changes, even excellent employees can be caught in the crossfire. This is why workers who were performing well, receiving commendations or even being considered for progression can suddenly find themselves without a seat when the music stops.

It is natural to take redundancy personally because work shapes identity. But once you accept that the decision is about the position rather than the individual, you begin to see the experience differently. Redundancy becomes a transition rather than a judgement. And transitions can lead to reinvention, better opportunities and stronger positioning. Many people bounce forward, not backward, after leaving roles they once thought were secure.

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