What Nobody Tells You About the Emotional Impact of Redundancy – and How HR Can Offer Empathetic Support 

Redundancy is one of the most difficult actions an organisation can take and can create a dual tension between process and emotional impact for HR leaders and teams. 

Redundancy involves complex and non-negotiable legal and logistical processes and HR teams are rightly focused on getting these consultation, compliance and timing processes right. This complexity can be compounded by volume as increasingly volatile contexts, restructures and workforce planning all contribute to a rise in redundancies. In the UK for example, an upward trend in redundancy numbers during 2025 saw over 33,000 potential redundancies reported by the Office for National Statistics in the UK in the four weeks to mid-December 2025.

In managing these redundancies, when the focus remains solely on process, there can be unintended consequences in the form of unacknowledged emotional outcomes. Even more so when under pressure, emotion is often viewed as something to be contained so that attention can return to delivery and the future. But that emotion does not sit neatly at the edge of redundancy. The emotion generated by loss, uncertainty and disruption moves through organisations whether it is named or not.  

HR inevitably ends up carrying responsibility for these emotional outcomes. It’s important to note too that these emotions are not confined to those leaving. What we often see being less well taken care of is the recognition that the emotional impact of redundancy is also felt by those who stay. 

We believe, given that redundancy is full of emotion for many people, and in many different ways, that this emotional impact is work for the whole organisation, not only those in HR. Trust, culture and a sense of belonging are all shaped by how the emotional impact of redundancy is handled and are worthy of everyone’s attention. Especially given that how people are feeling does not tend to work to organisational timetables. 

When responses to loss and uncertainty are not acknowledged, they do not disappear. They are carried forward into the system, showing up later as hesitation about change, cynicism about leadership messages or reduced engagement and quietly becoming part of the organisation’s cultural memory. 

In our work, and as explored in our book Good Bye, we see HR at its best when it acts as steward of endings and recongises the potential of upskilling all their leaders in attending to endings. HR is not responsible for fixing how people feel. What it can do is influence how endings are designed and led, shaping conditions in which emotional responses are acknowledged rather than rushed or bypassed. 

We use the REAR model to name the work that helps endings to be properly acknowledged and honoured. REAR refers to four sequential steps: Reality, Emotion, Accomplishment and Ritual. The sequence matters as each step prepares the ground for the next and the second step (and a pivotal one) is emotion. 

Once the reality of redundancy has been named, emotional responses inevitably follow. Attending to emotion means allowing those responses to be acknowledged rather than rushed past or minimised. Empathy here can bring both judgement and proportion: knowing when to slow things down, when to name what is difficult, and when not to push people prematurely towards acceptance. 
 

This emotional work is further supported when organisations also then attend to accomplishment and ritual. Acknowledging what people have contributed, and finding an appropriate way to mark the ending, gives those who are leaving a sense of being seen and witnessed. Those who remain are watching closely too. How redundancies are handled teaches people what their organisation does when things become difficult and whether care, appreciation and fairness extend beyond words. It also helps those who remain to process what has happened. 

We would argue that redundancy is a defining test of organisational maturity. The question is not whether it can be made painless, but whether it is treated with sufficient seriousness to be done as well as possible for those who leave and those who stay. As HR leaders are key stewards of this work, it is worth equipping yourself not only with confidence in handling the process of redundancy, but also with confidence in recognising and supporting its emotional complexity. 

About the Authors

Leading Executive Coaches Alison Lucas, of Randolph Partnership Ltd, and Lizzie Bentley Bowers, of The Causeway Coaching Ltd, are co-authors of Good Bye: Leading change better by attending to endings (Practical Inspiration Publishing) and professionally accredited coaches and facilitators, working predominantly at board level and across all three sectors.

They are passionate about staying continually curious and paying attention to their clients’ individual and commercial needs and outcomes. Collaboration, shared experience and shared learning is a hallmark of their practice, and they enjoy and benefit from the support and challenge they offer each other. Holding the pursuit of the best outcomes for their clients lies at the heart of their collaborations. You can find out more about them at GoodByeCoach.co.uk.