The Effects of Fear of Job Loss and What to Do About It

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If you’re feeling stressed because of fear of job loss, you’re not alone. Job loss is one of the top 10 major stressors in life—up there with the death of a loved one and divorce. And “job insecurity,” that is, fear of job loss, has been reported to be an even greater stressor than actual unemployment.

Uncertainty is among the greatest triggers to the stress response in all animals. Fear of job loss carries with it not just uncertainty about work and the future but also uncertainty about financial security and socioeconomic status—perhaps entailing the need to move out of a beloved home or town away from friends—two more of the top 10 stressors.

Suddenly being hit with fear for one’s job will immediately trigger anxiety and the brain’s stress response. This, in turn, can lead to sleeplessness, poor sleep quality, and next-day fatigue. Extensive literature shows that sleep deprivation is associated with impaired decision-making and increased errors, especially in real-world emergency-response situations requiring rapid decision-making based on imperfect information and unexpected change.

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If the threat of job loss continues for any length of time, the stress may become chronic and can lead to depression, burnout, and increased susceptibility to and severity of viral infections and other illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease. A viral infection, indeed any illness, also impairs sleep quality, memory, and decision-making, potentially compounding the impacts of the initial stressor on these job-related tasks.

So, what should you do if faced with the threat of job loss, especially if it is a threat unrelated to your job performance and one that you cannot control?

Gaining some level of control over the situation will help reduce that stress response and its knock-on effects. But if the threat of job loss had nothing to do with your own performance, is there anything you can do to gain some measure of control?

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people worldwide experienced unemployment and job insecurity, and recent studies based on that experience support older pre-COVID study findings.

Thus, employees who feel they have more control over their jobs fare better in times of uncertainty and threat of job loss. Social support is a key mediator of this effect. If those in your immediate circle, whether at work or outside of work, provide social support, then the fear and anxiety of the threat of job loss can be buffered even though it won’t completely disappear.

Many years ago, when I worked for the National Institutes of Health, I found myself in a position of fearing for my federal government job. Based on my research findings, I had testified before Congress on a contentious issue that put me at odds with my institute director and the administration. I was confronted in the congressional hearing room and received threatening calls and demands to withdraw my testimony and claim it was personal opinion, even though it had been published in leading medical journals. Eventually, I was denied promotion. I felt that my job was on the line. I was extremely stressed—so stressed, in fact, that I developed inflammatory arthritis.

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How did I get through it all? I reached out to and gained the support of colleagues. The advice from one of them has stayed with me to this day. He said: “Remember Esther, it’s the good fight!” That gave me the energy to turn my bad stress into good stress and use that energy to gain some degree of control. It took years, but I ultimately won my promotion.

I didn’t do it alone—I found many colleagues who helped. I hired a top-notch pit bull attorney expert in politically motivated retaliation. I brought the issue out into the open. I organized a session titled “Manipulation of Science by Vested Interests: Money and Power Versus the Public Health” at the American Association for the Advancement of Science—an association for science journalists, and I invited a member of the Nobel Committee and the editor of a science journal to be my session co-chairs. I published a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. Having a Plan B also helped. Being a physician, I had the luxury of being able to quit research and my federal job and go into full-time clinical practice. Although I didn’t want to do that, just knowing I had potential options helped reduce my stress and anxiety and got me through it all.

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Besides addressing the fear of job loss head-on in these ways, there are many activities that fall under the domain of integrative health, which can help buffer the stress you feel. These include exercise, being in nature, going offline and meditating, and even taking care of your pets. A growing literature shows that animal-assisted therapy or “pet-attachment support” is an excellent way to reduce stress from any cause.

So, if you are in an uncontrollable situation fearing for your job, do what you can to take control. Turn bad stress into good stress and use that energy to garner the support you need.

Surround yourself with colleagues, mentors, advisors, and friends for social support. Seek professional help. Work with an employment advisor or other professionals who can guide you through the challenge. Think about your skill sets and how they might be applied to other positions—imagine a Plan B.

Finally, engage in all those integrative health activities that enhance resilience and reduce stress, including being in nature, exercising daily, eating a healthy diet, and spiritual activities like meditation. All this will reduce your stress response, help you sleep better, keep you healthy, and help you get through it successfully. They will even improve your job performance if your worst fears don’t materialize!