Clunite Editorial · Risk Assessment
Am I getting laid off?
12 questions. 2 minutes. Score the real workplace warning signals — workload shifts, meeting exclusions, budget language, manager behavior — and find out where you actually stand.
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The four risk levels
Where your signals actually land.
You may not be seeing strong layoff signals right now, but it is still smart to stay prepared.
Some warning signs are present. This is a good time to prepare quietly.
You are seeing several signals that deserve attention. Avoid panic, but start preparing now.
Multiple high-severity signals are present. Act now — not out of panic, but because the window to prepare is narrow.
How it works
Two minutes. No guessing.
Answer 12 signal questions
Each question targets a documented organizational warning signal — workload changes, meeting behavior, manager communication, budget language. Not hypotheticals.
Signals are weighted and scored
Each answer scores 0–3 based on severity. Total score maps to one of four risk levels. The scoring draws on job-insecurity research, not intuition.
You get a clear verdict
Risk level, score, context, and four concrete actions calibrated to where you are. Not vague advice. Specific moves for this week.
The 12 signals
The check covers what matters.
Each of the 12 questions targets a signal category documented in the organizational psychology literature on involuntary job loss.
- Workload changes — sudden drop or stall in your assigned work
- Meeting exclusion — being left out of meetings you previously attended
- Manager vagueness — evasiveness about your future plans
- Company cost signals — hiring freezes, budget cuts, leadership language
- Project reassignment — work removed from your plate without explanation
- Peer layoffs — people in similar roles already let go
- Restructuring language — "efficiency," "consolidation," "automation" in comms
- Documentation requests — asked to document processes or cross-train unexpectedly
- Goal shifting — performance expectations changing mid-cycle without clarity
- Company performance — missing revenue, growth, or funding targets
- Future exclusion — not included in long-term planning or forward discussions
- Manager communication — tone becoming colder, shorter, or more distant
Research basis
The signals are documented.
The 12-signal framework draws on three decades of published organizational psychology research on job insecurity and its precursors. We translated academic constructs into the observable, day-to-day signals that workers actually notice.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. A meta-analysis demonstrating the psychological and occupational costs of job insecurity — independent of whether the loss actually occurs. Our scoring weights signal categories based on this framework's outcome predictors.
Academy of Management Review. The foundational two-dimension model of job insecurity: severity of threat (how much is at stake) and powerlessness (perceived ability to resist). Our 12 signals map to both dimensions, separating organizational signals from personal powerlessness indicators.
SA Journal of Industrial Psychology. The distinction between quantitative job insecurity (losing the job entirely) and qualitative job insecurity (losing valued aspects of the role — scope, autonomy, relationships). Our framework scores both types, because qualitative signals often precede quantitative ones.
"Job insecurity is the perceived threat of involuntary job loss. Its psychological cost operates largely independently of whether the loss actually occurs." — Sverke, Hellgren & Näswall, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (2002)
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is this a definitive predictor of being laid off? +
No. This is a structured self-assessment tool that helps you recognize and score documented organizational warning signals. It cannot predict company decisions. What it can do is help you see patterns clearly so you can prepare with intention rather than anxiety.
What research is this based on? +
The 12 warning signals draw on three bodies of published organizational psychology research: Sverke, Hellgren & Näswall (2002) on the psychological costs of job insecurity; Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt (1984) on the severity and powerlessness dimensions of job insecurity; and De Witte (2005) on quantitative versus qualitative job insecurity.
What should I do if my score is High Risk or Critical? +
Do not panic, but do act. The result page gives you four specific next actions for your risk level. The core principle: use the window that still exists to prepare — update your resume, restore professional contacts, review your financial runway. Acting now, calmly, is more effective than reacting in a crisis.
Is my data stored? +
No personal identifiers are collected. Your answers are processed in-session and never linked to your name or email. We do not require sign-up.
Can I take this for a friend or coworker? +
You can answer for yourself based on what you observe about their situation, but the results are most accurate when answered by the person experiencing the signals directly. Share the link instead — the check takes under two minutes.
Read next
Go deeper.
Field guide · 10 min
9 signs you are about to be laid off — and how to read them clearly
A signal-by-signal breakdown with context on what each one actually means — and when to worry versus when to breathe.
Action plan · 8 min
What to do before a layoff — a calm, sequenced checklist
Specific moves for resume, network, finances, and digital presence. Calibrated for people who have a few weeks, not a few months.
Deep read · 12 min
How to read workplace warning signs — without catastrophizing
The organizational psychology of signal interpretation. Why our brains over-read and under-read the same data — and how to calibrate.
Checklist · 7 min
Layoff preparation checklist: 9 things to do before you're let go
Ranked by impact, not comfort. The nine actions most people know they should take — and delay until it's too late.
Survival guide · 9 min
The layoff survival guide: what to do in the first 30 days
Week by week. What decisions need to be made in 48 hours, which can wait, and how to pace a job search that doesn't exhaust you by week two.
2 minutes
You are already wondering. Know.
Score the signals you are already seeing. Get a risk level and four specific actions. No email. No noise.
Start the CheckFree · No email · This self-check is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, or career advice.