Edition #17 - How Do We Heal in Times of Displacement?

Opening Reflection I have been thinking about the people who just lost their jobs. Not as headlines. As humans.

By Mykel Salomon · 2026-02-20

This is the moment we stop competing and start carrying each other.<hr><h3>Opening Reflection</h3>I have been thinking about the people who just lost their jobs.Not as headlines. As humans.Someone who refreshed their inbox and felt their stomach drop. Someone who has a mortgage, kids, aging parents, student loans, quiet anxiety. Someone who built an identity around being reliable, valuable, needed.And then one day, a meeting appears. Or an email. Or access disappears.We can debate the pace of AI. We can celebrate new tools. We can post optimistic predictions.But we cannot skip the human truth: disruption is not abstract when it hits your home.This edition is about healing. And about what it means to stay human when the world is moving faster than people can process.<hr><h3>Signal of the Week</h3>Layoffs are still rolling through tech, and the scale is not small.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80" href="http://Layoffs.fyi">Layoffs.fyi</a>, one of the most cited trackers, shows hundreds of thousands of tech employees impacted across 2024 and 2025, and layoffs continuing into 2026.Crunchbase News also tallies tens of thousands of tech layoffs in 2024 and continued cuts in 2025, reinforcing that this is not a one month story.And the big companies keep signaling “efficiency” as the mandate. Reuters reported Amazon’s plan tied to a broader target of around 30,000 corporate roles, after a prior round, with AI and streamlining repeatedly cited as part of the context.Even when companies do not say “AI caused this,” the direction is clear: fewer layers, fewer roles, more automation, more output.So the question becomes painfully human:What happens to people when the system optimizes faster than lives can adapt?<hr><h3>The human part we keep skipping</h3>Job loss is not only financial.It is identity shock. It is social disruption. It is a nervous system event.People do not just lose a paycheck. They lose rhythm, belonging, confidence, and sometimes dignity.And this is where “healing” becomes a leadership topic, not a personal self-help topic.Because in a world being automated, healing is how we keep people from becoming disposable.<hr><h3>🌍 In the Wild</h3>Here is what real humanity looks like during displacement, and why it matters.<h3>1) Communities that become safety nets</h3>When layoffs hit, people do not need advice first. They need presence. The fastest recovery often comes from networks that share leads, referrals, practice interviews, review resumes, and remind people they are not alone.The future of work will reward those who build community before they need it.<h3>2) Leaders who translate disruption into dignity</h3>The best leaders do not just announce restructuring. They create pathways: reskilling, internal mobility, mentorship, transitions with respect.Even when a company cannot keep everyone, it can still protect humanity in how it exits people.<h3>3) Humans helping humans, without PR</h3>The quiet acts matter most: a message to check in, a warm intro, a resume review, a shared opportunity, a voice note that says “I see you.”This is not charity. This is how trust survives change.<hr><h3>What we can do, practically</h3>If you are employed right now, you have leverage. Use it well.For individuals<ul><li>Reach out to one displaced person this week and offer something specific: intro, review, practice call, job lead.</li><li>Share opportunities publicly, not privately. Visibility helps more than sympathy.</li><li>Encourage people to talk about what they are good at, not what they used to be called.</li></ul>For leaders<ul><li>Normalize grief and uncertainty. People do not “bounce back” on a timeline.</li><li>Invest in reskilling with real time and real budgets, not motivational posts.</li><li>Treat transitions as part of the employee experience, not a legal event.</li></ul>For companies<ul><li>If you are adopting AI to increase efficiency, you also inherit a responsibility to increase human support.</li><li>Automation savings without reinvestment in people is not innovation. It is extraction.</li></ul><hr><h3>💬 The Big Question</h3>When efficiency becomes the loudest value in the room, what do we do to keep dignity from becoming optional?<hr><h3>🧠 A small exercise for this week</h3>Write these down. One page. No polishing.<ol><li>Who helped me become who I am?</li><li>Who needs that kind of help right now?</li><li>What is one action I can take in 24 hours that reduces someone else’s isolation?</li><li>If I lost my role tomorrow, what would I want humans to do for me?</li></ol>Then do one of those things.Healing is not a concept. Healing is an action.<hr><h3>🎙️ This Week’s Episode</h3>Episode: Finding Healing Beyond Conventional Therapy: A Veteran's Journey of Resilience Guest: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 ember-view" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/unfilteredwisdom/">Rob Greene</a> Founder & Author | Unfiltered WisdomThis conversation explores what healing really looks like when the system fails you, and why technology can support care but can never replace presence. Rob shares his journey from PTSD and a breaking point in 2015 to rebuilding his life through nature, discipline, and learning across cultures. humanizing-mental-health-with-a…We talk about:<ul><li>Why mental health is a global emergency, and why access matters but depth matters more</li><li>What it feels like when conventional care becomes delays, paperwork, and prescriptions without real healing strategies</li><li>Why “the body keeps score,” and how physical practices can release what the mind tries to move past</li><li>How nature and disconnection can help you hear yourself again, without constant digital noise</li><li>The idea that healing is not erasing the past, it is rebuilding yourself around it so it no longer hijacks your decisions</li><li>Rob’s core message: if you want change, you have to change, and you cannot run from yourself</li></ul>This episode is a reminder that healing is not a single moment. It is a practice. And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop avoiding what you feel and start listening to it.🎧 Available on: <a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 WaaSksAwsJZZVZlCYNLQZoqqnBApTMDUGAATL " href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/63fp9MU02cA7CfJ8NnLUv7?si=rdW3tXnrQ_y58vrdlgucMA">Spotify |</a> <a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 WaaSksAwsJZZVZlCYNLQZoqqnBApTMDUGAATL " href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2e7-finding-healing-beyond-conventional-therapy-a/id1843402023?i=1000750303342">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#4FD1C5] underline hover:opacity-80 WaaSksAwsJZZVZlCYNLQZoqqnBApTMDUGAATL " href="https://youtu.be/Up_lbE6OFXA?si=0M4a5c5Ffb3WiIdJ">YouTube</a><img class="max-w-full h-auto rounded-md my-4" src="https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4D12AQHIY5QB4Y4nHQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/B4DZx7TLcuKEAQ-/0/1771595156040?e=1773273600&v=beta&t=YKdmZAIPpR0nDJH7KL8bWbZWIRFtQbWtI35IifWwANo" alt="Article content"><hr><h3>Thought to end the week</h3>Technology will keep accelerating.The only question is whether we will accelerate our humanity with it.Check on your people. Hold the door open. Make the referral. Send the message. Help someone remember they are more than a role.That is how we heal.— Mykel