Rebuild Trust and Team Cohesion After Layoffs with DiSC®
Introduction: When the Dust Settles, What Comes Next?
Layoffs are one of the most disruptive experiences a workplace can endure. For those who remain, the emotional and operational aftershocks are profound. Even in cases where downsizing is handled with empathy and transparency, the resulting environment is often marked by uncertainty, survivor’s guilt, distrust, and fractured team dynamics. As HR and L&D leaders, the real work begins not when the layoffs are announced, but in the weeks and months that follow.
So, what do you do when the dust settles? How do you restore a sense of safety, rebuild trust in leadership, and re-engage a team that’s been emotionally rattled and potentially reshuffled? How do you make space for healing while maintaining momentum? And how do you help your people managers lead with empathy and resilience when they themselves are under pressure?
This is where a human-centered, behaviorally intelligent approach like Everything DiSC® becomes essential. In this blog post, we explore the psychological toll of layoffs, the barriers to rebuilding trust and cohesion, and how Everything DiSC can serve as a practical framework for recovery, reconnection, and renewed performance.
The Impact of Layoffs: More Than Just Numbers
Layoffs aren’t just about the employees who leave. They significantly affect those who remain—often in less visible but equally disruptive ways.
Key Stats:
A study by Harvard Business Review found that 74% of employees who kept their jobs after a layoff reported decreased productivity.
69% reported a decline in morale, and over half said they no longer trusted their employer.
Gallup research indicates that in the wake of layoffs, survivors are 41% more likely to experience disengagement, which directly impacts innovation and customer satisfaction.
Layoffs fracture the psychological contract between employer and employee. Survivors may feel anxious about job security, angry about how decisions were made, or disconnected from leadership. People managers, in particular, are often left to clean up the emotional fallout without training, tools, or support.
The Trust Deficit: Why Rebuilding Is So Difficult
Trust is foundational to any healthy workplace. It influences communication, collaboration, innovation, and performance. But after layoffs, trust is often the first thing to erode and the last thing to return.
Common post-layoff trust barriers include:
Fear of further cuts: Employees stay in “survival mode,” unwilling to fully re-engage.
Perceived injustice: Lack of clarity or transparency around layoff decisions fuels resentment.
Manager hesitation: People leaders may become risk-averse, overly cautious, or emotionally distant.
Fractured teams: Reshuffling and increased workloads create new tensions and miscommunications.
Without intentional intervention, these dynamics harden into long-term dysfunction. Organizations that fail to prioritize rebuilding trust after layoffs often see a second wave of exits—this time voluntary.
The Role of HR and L&D: Leading the Recovery
HR and L&D professionals are uniquely positioned to guide teams through post-layoff recovery. But this requires more than wellness webinars and one-off team-building exercises. It demands:
A behavioral lens to understand how individuals process uncertainty
Empathy-led frameworks for navigating emotional and interpersonal strain
Scalable solutions that can be deployed across teams
This is precisely where Everything DiSC offers transformative value.
Everything DiSC: A Tool for Repairing, Rebuilding, and Reconnecting
Everything DiSC is a behavioral assessment and development tool that helps individuals understand their own communication style, recognize the styles of others, and adapt for better relationships. In post-layoff environments, DiSC can be used to:
1. Rebuild Psychological Safety
By helping team members understand their own stress responses and communication styles, DiSC normalizes emotional differences and depersonalizes conflict. This builds a foundation for:
- Safe, productive dialogue
- Healthier conflict resolution
- Re-established peer trust
2. Support People Managers Under Pressure
Managers often experience burnout and emotional whiplash after layoffs. DiSC gives them the tools to:
- Lead with self-awareness
- Flex their approach based on team needs
- Re-engage employees with authenticity and empathy
3. Reintegrate Teams After Restructuring
Reshuffled teams struggle with role ambiguity, miscommunication, and power dynamics. DiSC creates a common language for collaboration, allowing teams to:
- Understand interpersonal dynamics quickly
- Align on shared norms and expectations
- Accelerate trust and productivity
4. Foster Empathy Across the Organization
When individuals understand how others are wired, empathy increases. DiSC-trained teams are better at:
- Avoiding assumptions
- Navigating tension without blame
- Recognizing intent behind behavior.
A Step-by-Step Framework for DiSC-Driven Recovery
Step 1: Acknowledge the Moment
Start by validating the emotional impact of the layoffs. Use facilitated DiSC debriefs to help teams reflect on how stress has affected communication and trust.
Step 2: Reintroduce Psychological Insight
Bring teams through the Everything DiSC on Catalyst experience. Use the interactive platform to explore each team member’s style, priorities, and stressors.
Step 3: Rebuild with Intention
Use team-based DiSC workshops to:
- Co-create new team norms
- Surface and address hidden tensions
- Create agreements for accountability and support
Step 4: Support Managers as Culture Stewards
Equip people leaders with Everything DiSC Work of Leaders or Agile EQ™ tools so they can:
- Model vulnerability and flexibility
- Recognize burnout cues
- Rebuild trust one conversation at a time
Step 5: Sustain the Progress
Reinforce DiSC concepts through:
- Regular check-ins using Catalyst
- Peer coaching groups
- Manager-led refresher sessions
Why Everything DiSC Works When Trust Is Fragile
Unlike traditional skills training or motivational initiatives, DiSC meets people where they are emotionally. Its power lies in:
- Non-judgmental insight: Participants gain clarity without shame
- Relational intelligence: Empowers better communication under stress
- Scalability: Adaptable for intact teams, large departments, or enterprise-wide rollouts
Perhaps most importantly, DiSC doesn’t just patch over the cracks—it helps rebuild the foundation.
How to Get Started
Whether you’re supporting one team or rebuilding across departments, DISC Training Zone offers three pathways to help:
1. Facilitated DiSC Workshops
Our experienced consultants guide your teams through tailored DiSC sessions to foster reflection, healing, and renewed alignment.
2. Train-the-Trainer Packages
Empower your internal HR and L&D professionals to deliver DiSC across your organization using our comprehensive facilitator kits, Catalyst platform access, and support.
3. Everything DiSC Certification
Develop deep in-house expertise by certifying your HR leaders, enabling them to coach managers and embed DiSC into ongoing cultural and leadership development.
Final Thoughts: Repairing Culture Is a Leadership Act
Layoffs may be necessary, but they don’t have to define your culture. What happens next—how you lead through recovery, rebuild trust, and re-engage your teams—will determine your organization’s future.
Everything DiSC gives you the insights, language, and structure to do that work with intention, empathy, and behavioral precision. Because trust can be rebuilt. Teams can recover. And culture can emerge stronger.
Explore DiSC Workshops, Train-the-Trainer solutions, or DiSC Certification at DISC Training Zone. Let’s rebuild what matters most: connection.
Hi! I’m Cynthia Waisner - Managing Partner here at DISC Training Zone. For more than twenty years, we have been helping our clients boost team performance, strengthen collaboration, and foster culture change.
The innovative suite of Everything DiSC® products has been at the heart of this success.
