I’m Worried I’m Going to Lose My Job
Sometimes the hardest stage is before anybody has actually said your job is going.
Sometimes the hardest stage is before anybody has actually said your job is going.
A restructure is announced. Work is drying up. Senior managers hold closed meetings. Colleagues are leaving. You hear the word “efficiency” and start mentally spending your redundancy payment before you even know whether redundancy is proposed.
Uncertainty encourages the mind to fill gaps with worst-case answers. A better first step is to separate what you know from what you fear.
Write down the facts
What has your employer actually communicated?
Have redundancies been proposed? Is your role formally at risk? Is the organisation consulting? Has only a general restructure been announced?
Do not treat workplace rumours as confirmed decisions. But keep formal communications and ask reasonable questions about the process and timetable.
If redundancy is proposed, consultation should mean something
Acas guidance says employers should consult before making redundancy decisions.
Consultation should allow discussion about the proposed changes, ways to avoid or reduce redundancies, selection criteria and alternatives.
It is not supposed to be a meeting held simply to announce a decision that was already irreversible.
Protect your finances before there is a crisis
You do not need to assume you will lose your job to make sensible preparations.
Review essential monthly spending, emergency savings, debt commitments and benefit possibilities. Avoid panic decisions such as cashing investments, taking expensive borrowing or cancelling important insurance without understanding the consequences.
A modest contingency plan can reduce the feeling that everything depends on one meeting at work.
Quietly prepare for another possibility
Update your CV and LinkedIn profile, reconnect with useful contacts and look at the current job market.
This is not disloyalty and it does not mean you have accepted redundancy.
It gives you another route if the organisation eventually confirms that your role is going.
Notice what uncertainty is doing to you
Job insecurity can create constant checking, poor sleep, irritability and difficulty concentrating at the very time you want to perform well.
Set boundaries around speculation. Decide when you will check work messages or discuss the restructure rather than letting it dominate every evening.
If anxiety is becoming persistent or difficult to manage, wellbeing or professional support can sit alongside the employment process.
If you suspect another reason is involved
A genuine redundancy situation does not remove other employment protections.
Selection cannot lawfully be based on protected characteristics such as disability, race, sex or age, and certain other reasons, including whistleblowing, can make selection unfair.
If your concern is not simply “my role may disappear” but “I think they are using redundancy to target me”, preserve the evidence and seek individual advice.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important informationThis guide provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical or other professional advice. Employment rights depend on individual circumstances and the law can change. If you are concerned about your legal position, check current information and consider advice from Acas, a trade union, an appropriately qualified adviser or an employment-law professional.