When Michael Permana realized his software engineering job at Amazon was at risk, he didn’t panic. Instead, he took paternity leave.
Permana’s job security concerns began in February 2023, when he was placed on a performance improvement plan—a move he saw as a clear sign his job was in serious jeopardy.
“I was desperate because from what I’d heard, once you are in a performance improvement plan, you are on your way out at Amazon,” said the 47-year-old, who lives in California.
He began looking for work immediately but knew it might take a while to land a new role. He was also worried about not being able to earn a paycheck while having a mortgage to pay. Then he had an idea.
His daughter had been born the previous May, and he still had a few remaining months of paternity leave before it expired when she turned one year old. By temporarily stepping away from work, he thought he might be able to prolong his employment at Amazon while he searched for a new role.
“I took the opportunity while I could to delay time,” he said.
It paid off. Less than a month after returning to work, Permana received a job offer for a software engineering position at MobilityWare, a mobile game developer.
## Layoffs and Job Security Concerns
While layoffs across the economy remain low by historical standards, white-collar workers have been disproportionately affected. A hiring slowdown has made it harder for them to secure new roles.
Business Insider has spoken with dozens of people laid off by major corporations as companies implement strategic shifts, including shedding management roles, reallocating resources toward AI initiatives, pushing out underperformers, and cutting costs across the board.
Some of these workers saw their layoffs coming, but many others were caught off guard, citing factors like long tenure, lack of performance issues, and the seemingly strong financial position of their employers.
Rather than simply working hard and hoping for the best, some workers have prepared for the worst by deploying strategies such as starting a job search early, launching a side business, or secretly working a second job.
Laura Ulrich, director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said some workers may feel anxious about job security because lower hiring levels have raised concerns about their ability to find a new role if a layoff were to occur. The shift feels especially stark compared to the much stronger hiring seen in many industries just a few years ago.
“If you become unemployed, it’s become much harder to find a job,” she said.
Ulrich added that the hype surrounding the potential of AI technologies has also given some workers reason to worry about their job security—even as the full impact of these technologies remains to be seen.
## Starting a Business to Prepare for a Layoff
Eduardo Noriega first began worrying about his job security at Microsoft in 2009, when the company laid off about 5,000 workers. He was spared, but it was a wake-up call.
“When I saw the layoff, I realized that job security isn’t real,” said Noriega, who’s in his 50s and lives in Seattle.
After weighing his options, Noriega concluded that his best chance at financial stability was to build a business he could rely on if he ever lost his job. He said it was one of the best career decisions he’s ever made.
By the time he was laid off by Microsoft this past May, he had spent nearly a decade building a staffing firm outside work hours and was earning a reliable income.
“I never dared to quit,” he said. “And then Microsoft presented the layoff, and for me, that was like an exit.”
## Taking Second Jobs and Building Your Network
Many workers Business Insider spoke with who had significant concerns about job security—and took steps to guard against it—had either been laid off in the past or witnessed significant cuts at their employers.
After getting laid off from four tech jobs between 2020 and 2023, Reed (a pseudonym), who is in his 30s and lives in New York, was desperate for some level of job security.
Reed had a eureka moment: “The only way for me to combat not continuously being unemployed is to have two jobs,” he said.
As of early 2024, Reed was on track to earn about $280,000 working two full-time remote jobs. He said his typical workweek is about 60 hours, and neither employer knows about the other gig—but he thinks it’s worth it for the additional job security.
“I need these two jobs to sustain my life with my partner,” he explained. “I don’t really have a choice.”
Not all job jugglers are as ambitious as Reed. Some, like John, a millennial software engineer based in California, are boosting their job security by taking on a part-time role on the side.
He expects to earn about $225,000 this year, including around $60,000 from his part-time gig. John said his main employer knows he has a side gig of some sort but doesn’t know the specifics or how many hours he devotes to it.
In addition to his part-time gig, John has become less concerned about his job security as he has developed his professional network over the years.
If he were to be laid off from his primary job, he said he knows several startup founders and hiring managers who he believes would help him find employment.
“I’m pretty confident that I’d be able to secure another full-time job in pretty short order,” he said.
## Preparing Financially and Starting Your Job Search
Earlier this year, a strategic shift at Intel led Kent Ha, then a digital marketing strategist, to believe his team’s jobs were in jeopardy. He had already been laid off twice over the past decade—in 2015 and 2020—and wanted to avoid another lengthy spell of unemployment.
So in June, he contacted his financial advisor to help him prepare financially and started applying for jobs.
“I figured worst case, I’d land another offer and have a backup plan,” Ha said. “Best case, I’d keep my job and wouldn’t have to make any changes.”
When the feared layoff came in July, Ha was already in the middle of a job search. While he is still looking for work, he’s glad he got a head start.
For some workers, the best way to ease job security concerns is by accumulating savings that can help them stay afloat during unemployment or provide the freedom to leave a job that doesn’t feel stable.
Phil Coachman, formerly a senior cloud solution architect at Microsoft, said the company’s layoffs in 2023 raised significant concerns about his job security.
Other frustrations with his role followed, and in July 2024, he began looking for a new opportunity.
“I just didn’t feel happy there anymore,” said Coachman, who’s in his 40s and lives in Pennsylvania. “I wanted to just continue making cool stuff and not have this constant fear of losing my job every week.”
However, Coachman’s search proved challenging. By January of this year, he decided to resign and focus on his job search.
He said the “rainy day fund” he had built over the years helped him feel comfortable making that leap.
“I had enough savings that even if it would take me a year to find a job, I would be fine,” he said. “So it was just getting the courage to take that jump.”
While his savings helped him stay afloat during his job search, Coachman said relying more on his network after resigning is what ultimately landed him a new job.
A former Microsoft colleague referred him for a role at the AI startup Databricks, which led to an interview and, in April, a job offer.
His network couldn’t protect him from being laid off, but it helped end his spell of unemployment and made him feel less concerned about his job security going forward.
“Finding my next gig was 100% through my network,” he said. “It’s real connections with people that I think make all the difference.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-job-security-side-business-overemployment-savings-strategy-2025-11
