How to back up your contacts and work files before a layoff

Here are some steps that can make layoffs slightly less stressful. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

There's no sugarcoating it: getting laid off stinks. And while there's no such thing as a good" layoff, a bad one can absolutely be made worse if your now ex-company cuts off your access to contacts, emails, and work without warning.

You probably know someone who had this happen to them. (Or perhaps you're worried it could happen to you.) It seems heartless, but the bottom line is that companies abruptly cut off access to protect their interests. You might just want a colleague's email to keep in touch or might want to save examples of your work to prove your worth to possible employers. To the company, however, the most important thing is to make sure disgruntled ex-employees don't abscond with sensitive information like internal...

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