How do I cope with decisions that affect people's jobs?

Your decisions touch people's paychecks, their families, their sense of security. Feeling the weight of that is not a weakness to fix. It is the correct response to real power over other people's lives. The ones who should worry us are those who hold that power and feel nothing at all. That unsettled feeling is actually your conscience doing its job. Let it make you careful, but do not let it freeze you. You will never hold someone's livelihood weightlessly, and you should not want to. The goal is to carry the weight well: with attention, fairness, and honesty, not to make it disappear. Before a decision that affects someone's job, pause and picture the actual person on the other end. Ask whether you would be able to explain your reasoning to their face. If you can, you are using the power responsibly. That is the most anyone in your seat can honestly do.