Inside the mind of a firing manager: Guilt, shame and many questions

Therapists says those who had to fire someone narrated experiencing a sense of helplessness; some even had anxiety and trouble sleeping

In the middle of an otherwise uneventful day, his phone buzzed. On the other side was his boss who told him that the company was not doing too well. He was then asked to go through a list prepared by the human resources (HR) department and lay off half of his 200-member team. He had an hour's time.

“It all happened so suddenly,” says the middle-level manager who works at an e-commerce firm and does not wish to be named.

As those laid off received the news, the reactions were disparate. Some of his former colleagues sent him pictures of