Losing a security blanket is nowhere near traumatic as losing a steady income. To the unemployed, the phrase “losing your job” is insulting. The word “lose” indirectly implies fault, even if it was a company-wide elimination of positions. People who lose jobs through fault are fired. Fired people do not get severance, solid references or become eligible for unemployment. If you’re part of a layoff (or downsizing, re-organization, or whatever term HR types like to use) your position is taken away from you. Jobs are not like car keys or remote controls. They’re not things that can be easily replaced or turn up one day in the cushions of your couch. The phrase “losing a job” is a big reason why so many unemployed have low self-esteem. They blame themselves. This is also a big reason why so many prospective employers view an unemployed applicant’s resume with suspicion. Even if someone’s previous position was eliminated in a company-wide layoff, the idea of fault cannot escape a hiring manger’s mind.
It’s one thing to lose something that was given to us by those we trust, but it’s another thing to have it taken away. Hiring mangers need to consider this next time they ask a prospective candidate why the "left" their last job.