Impotence

Primo Levi, If This Is A Man:

If we were logical, we would resign ourselves to the evidence that our fate is beyond knowledge, that every conjecture is arbitrary and demonstrably devoid of foundation. But men are rarely logical when their own fate is at stake; on every occasion, they prefer the extreme positions. According to our character, some of us are immediately convinced that all is lost... that the end is near and sure; others are convinced that however hard the present life may be, salvation is probable and not far off.... The two classes of pessimists and optimists are not so clearly defined, however, not because there are many agnostics, but because the majority, without memory or coherence, drift between the two extremes, according to the moment and the mood of the person they happen to meet.

Life or livelihood, future or family -- if you deliberately place what is dear to the individual at any distance beyond their reach, then you're just playing the same game with different stakes.

This is why I recommend Holocaust literature to people facing layoffs.