The abrupt elimination of remote work, a freeze on new hires, and the gradual reduction of employee benefits. Instructions to cut costs and a sharp increase in performance pressure. An analysis has shown that these signs commonly appeared as early as three months prior to layoff announcements in companies that underwent massive downsizing.

Blind, an anonymous online community for office workers, analyzed the community activity of approximately 101,000 employees working at 10 U.S. companies that announced workforce reductions between May of last year and August of this year.

As a result, common behavioral changes were captured.

First, about 12 weeks out, mentions within the company regarding various changes related to cost-cutting and reduction began to increase.

The frequency of visits and time spent by employees trying to find news related to layoffs also increased.

Starting around 10 weeks prior, attention shifts from the "company" to "myself."

Posts and comments trying to check whether one is a target for layoffs and assessing such possibilities increased.

Searches regarding severance pay, compensation terms, and which job ranks are targeted for layoffs also surged.

From 8 weeks, or two months out, job-hunting preparations began in earnest.

Employees started looking into job openings at other companies and inquiring about internal referrals.

AI is particularly noticeable.

Posts mentioning AI and employment together have tripled over the past year, and three-quarters of them carried a negative context.

The anxiety spread not only to departments actually targeted for layoffs but across various job categories and seniority levels, with employees having 3 to 7 years of experience showing particularly active engagement.

Of course, remote work policies or hiring freezes do not necessarily mean restructuring is imminent.

This analysis is the result of examining employee behavioral patterns observed at 10 U.S. companies, and situations vary by company.

Nevertheless, this analysis shows that even with sudden large-scale layoff announcements, changes could be felt much earlier within the company.

(Reported and produced by Sim Yeong-gu | Edited by Na Hong-hee | Designed by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)