Laid Off: A Traumedy of Overwork and AI

"We're creating Bigfoot-level carbon footprints for a job like this?"

Sep 09, 2025

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In today’s issue, I talk to culture writer noella williams about mandated AI, workplace surveillance, and what it means to face back-to-back layoffs as Black women’s unemployment rates keep rising.

On May 7, 2024, Noella Williams was laid off from her job as an assistant editor at a lifestyle publication. She’d been there almost two years and was proud of projects like the Queer History Month package in 2023, where she commissioned writers to show how their homes reflected their queer identity.

Fourteen months later, on July 7, 2025, it happened again. This time she was a copywriter at a digital media agency, where mandated AI tools turned basic tasks into what she saw as unethical, environmentally wasteful busywork. “Happy to say I’m not proud of anything I did there,” she said.

That night, Noella went to see Eva Victor’s debut film. “I like to think that I’m living through a traumedy, which is a term I picked up from Sorry, Baby,” she said. “It inspired me to turn my grief into something successful for myself.”

Tell me about the layoffs.

I was placed on a PIP at the lifestyle publication in January 2024 for acknowledging the increase in my workload with zero increase in pay after my boss and another editor were laid off. The PIP was a shock to me since I was completing all of my assignments, offering creative cross-collaborative efforts for the team, and being the go-to writer for any ideas including whenever they needed "Black voices". The PIP was supposed to end two months later, but on the week of the final meeting regarding it, they decided to extend it an extra month. My theory? They didn't like that I was vocal about being overworked and underpaid, especially in comparison to the rest of the editorial team. It's funny, because I was drawing the website millions of page views that quarter.

At the agency, the layoff was unexpected and under the guise of a "check-in call," and they said they were doing it for "business reasons". They left me an email to contact their COO with any questions and left the Zoom call without giving me an opportunity to ask more. Meanwhile, no one else was laid off that day, week, or month.

What was the first thing you did after receiving the news?

Both times were a mix of doing what I love: crying, sitting in silence for ten minutes, FaceTiming a friend or two, hitting my bong, then watching a movie to decompress.

In your recent Substack, you wrote about being forced to use AI in your role at the digital media agency, even though it went against your values as a journalist and ethicist. Can you describe what that mandate looked like day-to-day, and why you feel strongly against AI in the arts? What are we at risk of losing?

In my recent role, we were mandated to use ChatGPT to "assist" our daily tasks, which was just an excuse to give us more work to do. It's comical to hear someone that doesn't interact with you at work or do similar tasks say that they're offering a "helpful tool" when it's just an attempt to rationalize mandated AI usage. I'm not falling for that. Using ChatGPT to complete simple work that I learned to do in basic college courses felt like unethical and immoral. I'm a journalist with the talent and imagination to write personal essays, op-eds, creative nonfiction, and more, so why would I curb my skill to let artificial intelligence take that away from me? Or worse, learn from me? We're creating Bigfoot-level carbon footprints for a job like this? It's pathetic.

You also wrote that surveillance from non-Black management compounded your exhaustion. How did race and identity shape the way you were treated, and the expectations placed on you?

It's a shame that I've experienced high levels of micro-management from white women at both jobs. Even though I attended a historically Black university, you're not taught about navigating that, especially at an impressionable, entry-level point in your career. After this year's layoff, I can clearly vocalize my feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, frustration, and fear. I remember asking my coworkers about the odd behavior from management — what I've previously described as surveillance in the workplace — and to my dismay, they were shocked to hear my experience and couldn't relate. I've been vocal about predatory, exploitative labor practices since my college job at Trader Joe's, so I definitely wasn't going to stop with my media career. Guess I learned that the only way to silence somebody like that is to send them a calendar invite.

You pointed to the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report that marked the third straight month of high unemployment rates for Black women as something that's been on your mind. That it feels like you're working backwards in the job market. Can you expand on that? How does it feel to see that personal reality reflected in the broader data?

I'm thinking about it every second. Some nights, I can't sleep properly knowing that I'm in fear of finding a job with healthcare benefits. Other days, I'm speaking to my mom, who was laid off from her long term job last fall. Most of the time, I'm exchanging stories with my peers and friends who similarly felt a racial motive behind their layoffs. What's happening to Black women across job industries is a multi-generational experience, and that's why I really enjoyed reading Brianna Holt's In Our Shoes. Her chapter on career, writing, and burnout quickly helped me realize that these disparities have been happening for decades.

You said you had some of your favorite conversations with other writers over the summer. Want to give some of them a shoutout and share some of their advice/perspectives that have given you comfort in these times?

I love talking about my loved ones. I have to thank my group chats and tear-filled convos IRL with other writers: Ariyon, Aolani, Cydian, Sierra, Aiyana, Mia, Malavika, Elie, Christine, Tess, India, Steffi, Leah, Heather, Sydney, Clarissa, Jordan, and Rowan. So many others come to mind. And I have to shoutout my lovely Leo BFF, Haley, who is always ready to fight the person responsible for my layoff. We've all concluded that we're much more talented beyond the condescending publications/newsrooms/etc. that don't respect our skills. At the end of the day, the advice is to be grateful that your identity doesn't start and stop with a job.

On that note, as you wrote, "individualism begone!" What are helpful ways friends can come to someone's aid after they experience a layoff?

Nurturing your friend through their grieving process is the best you can do as they navigate the post-layoff emotions. I was offered a drink, to be smoked out, a home-cooked meal, a movie night on the couch, co-working sessions to apply for jobs together, an invitation to walk in the park, or just spending time in silence. I need all of these, but more importantly, regular check-ins. My friend Malavika clocked me and my habit of not asking for help, so I'm learning as I go, but quality time is a necessity.

As you apply for jobs, are there any red flags you look out for that signals it might be an exploitative company?

AI USAGE!!! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!!

What about green flags?

What does a green flag in a career field even look like at this point? A livable wage to clear my credit card debt? Maybe if they're remote and don't require you to work from your city of residence. I can do my work, regardless of the time zone. But I'd also love to eliminate my debt.

Has your perception of “success” shifted in the aftermath of your layoffs?

Unless you've gone through it, people don't typically view layoffs as a years-long grieving process. It takes a lot of repression to call it a "bump in the road" or "closed door," amid the loss of all you knew for X amount of years. On top of that, you're navigating the horrors of the unemployment office, impostor syndrome, financial ruin, and the job market. My intuition has been flying off the charts this summer — and in true Piscean nature, I'm riding the delusions into how I now view success: hosting a panel at two comic conventions for my forthcoming debut book, working on the proposal for said nonfiction essay collection, becoming a better DJ, and developing ideas for a script. "I'm gonna find new drive," or whatever Beyoncé was yelling about in BREAK MY SOUL.

Don't be surprised if you reach your full creative potential post-layoff.

Noella is a Brooklyn-based culture writer with words in Vox, Teen Vogue, Washington Post, and more. Her work typically covers Black culture, queer identity, veganism, pop culture, music, fandoms, and more. She’d love to hear more about full-time, part-time, or contract roles, but would also love being commissioned to write about any of the topics visible on her portfolio. And if you're a literary agent, she’s hoping to query this fall. Email her.