This Article is From Mar 03, 2023

"Businesses Are Not Families": Ex Twitter Employee Who Went Viral For Sleeping On Floor

Ms Crawford said that companies are not families and employees who are lucky enough to stay after a round of layoffs too deserve empathy.

'Businesses Are Not Families': Ex Twitter Employee Who Went Viral For Sleeping On Floor

Ms Crawford was fired by Twitter in a fresh round of job cuts.

Esther Crawford, a senior Twitter employee, whose picture of sleeping on the office floor had gone viral online last year, was recently fired by the microblogging site in a fresh round of job cuts. Ms Crawford was one of the executives who had been in charge of the microblogging site's subscription service Twitter Blue. Since she had been consistently updating her social media account with information about the platform's new goals, many people referred to her as an Elon Musk loyalist.

Recently, Ms Crawford took to Twitter and said that at the end of the day, companies are not families and employees who are lucky enough to stay after a round of layoffs too deserve empathy.

"Seeing people who remain at a company after a round of layoffs get demonized for not quitting in solidarity is truly bizarre. Empathy should be extended to both sides. It's hard to lose your job and the people who remain often end up having to pick up even more work," she said in a post. 

Ms Crawford said that roles change after layoffs in a company. Some people move up the ladder to replace those who left. "If you're one of those people it's okay to shoot your shot. Leaders are made in these moments," she continued in a Twitter thread.

She said that layoffs can be difficult and it "can be jarring to suddenly have a piece of your identity taken away - especially if you were truly passionate about the problem & work". 

Looking at the other side, she commented that the ones who are left at the company can also feel lonely and scared. "A new normal has to emerge and that takes time as projects, people and priorities shift," Ms Crawford added.

Also Read: Number Of Ex Employees Suing Twitter "Goes Up Daily": Report

She stated that "at the end of the day businesses are not families - they're teams. The company's needs can change or new directions can emerge."

Ms Crawford added that there are a lot of things which we don't have control over. However, the best policy is to be "adaptable and antifragile". "That way you don't just bounce back from challenges but become smarter, wiser and stronger because of them," Ms Crawford mentioned.

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