Beyond Job Loss: Understanding the Emotional Impact of Institutional Betrayal

What happens when the job or the institution that feels like our calling and that we've poured our passion into turns its back on us?

I remember sitting in my high school counselor's office in the early 2000s, discussing college applications and picturing where my career might lead me. He was a pragmatic older man whose realism contrasted sharply with the limitless future my teachers offered. I hoped his experience and practical approach to life would offer me clarity. What he shared has stayed with me ever since: "Don't treat your career as just a transaction—align it with your values and find your calling." 

As a clinical psychologist who worked in federal government, I was surrounded with individuals fueled by their calling. I witnessed my colleagues' unwavering efforts to save lives, fight unjust systems, and make the world a better place. These roles often become extensions of our identities, and the institutions where we work provide a platform to advance a mission, serve others, and contribute to shaping a better world. 

But what happens when these institutions fail to protect, support, or live up to the values they stand for? What if they terminate our positions or let us go? These actions can result in institutional betrayal. Institutional betrayal is a psychological concept where an institution does not protect us from harm or violates our trust, which can result in a complex emotional experience. It is more than just grief, sadness, or anger: it's the trauma of being betrayed by an institution we believed in and where we exercised our values. The betrayal occurs in the breach of trust and the gap between values and action.

Examples of institutional betrayal include an institution ignoring reports of sexual assault to protect itself, a government agency failing to protect specific communities, or an institution letting go of an employee without a credible reason.

Over the past four months in my clinical practice, I've worked closely with individuals who were let go of their federal positions. Their emotional experiences, which I have witnessed in treatment, go beyond grief or frustration over losing a job. My clients have experienced profound emotional ruptures caused by institutional betrayal.  For many working in positions that align with their calling, these aren't just jobs; they are avenues by which to express our identities and practice our purpose.

As we face the fallout of widespread layoffs currently, both inside and outside the government, it's critical to recognize and name the experience of institutional betrayal. Acknowledging it as such can help individuals make sense of the intensity of their emotional responses and begin the work of healing.

Why It’s a Painful Experience

Institutional betrayal is painful and complex because of the layers of emotion it evokes: disillusionment, loss, grief, and betrayal. Power imbalance often compounds this emotional rupture. The institution is typically well-resourced and protected. In contrast, the individual is left feeling powerless or even punished, whether for speaking the truth or for doing the very job they were hired to do. Because this psychological tension is embedded in the systems around us, emotional reactions can be hard to explain, which makes recovery even more challenging without the proper support.

Many individuals undergoing institutional betrayal, mental health consequences include   post-traumatic stress, anger, anxiety, and pronounced stress, grief, and dissociation. This emotional storm can prevent individuals from fully processing the loss or seeking support.

For those who view their work as a reflection of their identity and beliefs, being let go or mistreated by an employer can shake their very sense of self, fracturing how they see themselves and their place in the world. The values they upheld while working in these organizations—justice, human rights, fidelity to care, and public service—feel compromised. Institutional betrayal goes beyond job loss and may lead individuals to question their identity, worth, and judgment. 

How to Overcome Institutional Betrayal

Healing from job loss, specifically in the context of institutional betrayal, is possible. Below are a few steps that I have found helpful in the healing process. 

Label it as betrayal: Start by naming the experience as betrayal. Reflecting on the complex emotions that accompany institutional betrayal helps you make sense of the experience. Labeling the experience as an act that has violated your trust and caused hurt is the first step in reclaiming your power.

Understand your emotions: Take a moment to reflect on your emotional experience, notice if you have increased anxiety, depression, disconnection from essential aspects of your life, distrust, or hypervigilance. The next step is to recognize that these emotions are entirely normal and appropriate. Then, you can work on reframing them as adaptive responses to betrayal trauma. 

Create safety in your body: Because institutional betrayal sometimes triggers trauma, whether current or from the past, it's essential to create grounding and safety in your own body. This may include intentional exercise or movement, breath work, or an exploration of your reactions in therapy. 

Retell your story: Shift the narrative and focus on retelling your story of betrayal, focusing less on what happened and more on who has failed you and how. Writing the narrative down, sharing it with others who can understand your experience, or exploring it in therapy can help you regain ownership of your story.

Make space for grief: Betrayal brings up a variety of emotions, including grief. It's essential to create space to process grief by acknowledging the loss of the job itself, the loss of trust, the fracture in your professional identity and sense of safety, or the loss of community and coworkers. 

Use anger to gain agency: Anger is an appropriate response to institutional betrayal. Think through how anger can serve as a source of protection and help you to gain agency and move forward.

Reclaim power through community or advocacy: Because power imbalances compound institutional betrayal, empowering ourselves also helps us shift the narrative. Identify ways to rebuild power through advocacy, creative work, or community-building. 

Reconnect with your purpose: Take time to explore what gives your life meaning beyond the institution or the role you once held. For example, explore how this betrayal changed you, how your beliefs have shifted, and what you still believe in. It's helpful to recognize that your sense of purpose isn't tied to one institution or a job. The values that helped you in your last role can guide you in others. Connect with your purpose and calling to help you build a new sense of direction.   

Institutional betrayal cuts deep because it challenges our trust, identity, and purpose. The grief, confusion, disillusionment, and anger you're experiencing are perfectly valid responses. Even when institutions fail us, we can redefine ourselves with a renewed sense of agency. Your purpose or calling do not end because their platform has changed.