"It was Cinco de Mayo 2020, and I woke up to an email: I was being laid off from my dream job as a global creative lead at Airbnb, one of 25% of the company being let go that morning as the pandemic hit the travel industry hard. I walked to the park in a daze, fully masked (remember those days?), found a tree, and broke down."
"First, I'm sorry that happened to you. I know how disorienting and painful job loss can be. The grief is real. The uncertainty can feel overwhelming. And the identity shake-up? That hits different. Here's what I also want you to know: This may be the end of one story, but it's also the start of a new, more incredible story that you can write entirely on your own terms."
"In the weeks after my layoff, I ping-ponged between anxiety ("Apply to jobs NOW!") and grief over my lost identity and work community. But then I realized I was in a "turn-the-page" moment. I would tell this story again and again. What kind of story did I want it to be? Psychologist Dan McAdams calls this a " narrative choice." How we frame our experiences to build personal meaning."
Five years ago on Cinco de Mayo 2020 a layoff from a global creative lead role at Airbnb triggered intense grief and a sense of identity loss. The pandemic caused widespread cuts and layoffs surged to their highest levels since COVID-19 by July 2025. Job loss often brings disorientation, overwhelming uncertainty, and a shaken sense of self. Storytelling practices can reframe transition moments into opportunities for new, self-authored narratives. One practice involves choosing the kind of story to tell, a "narrative choice" that shapes meaning. Framing experiences as contamination narratives can increase anxiety, showing the power of narrative framing.
Read at Fast Company
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