This cuts deep because it's so true. The silence hits different than the actual layoff. You expect to lose your job. You don't expect to lose people you grabbed coffee with every Tuesday. The psychology is brutal but predictable. Your former colleagues see you as a reminder of their own vulnerability. You're proof that "good performance" and "cultural fit" don't actually protect anyone. So they avoid you. It's not personal. It's survival instinct. But here's what I learned after watching this happen dozens of times: most workplace friendships were never real friendships. They were proximity relationships. Take away the shared commute complaints and project deadlines, and there's not much left. The real test? Who texts you on a random Thursday three months later just to check in. Not to network. Not to ask for referrals. Just because they miss talking to you. That list is always shorter than you think it'll be. The hardest part isn't losing the fake work friends. It's realizing how many of them were fake in the first place. But the few who do reach out? Those are your people. The layoff just filtered out the noise. I've been on both sides of this. When I'm still employed and a colleague gets cut, I reach out immediately. Not in six months when it's "less awkward." Day one. Because that silence you're talking about? It's not about awkwardness. It's about character.