Gina, a marketing executive at a Fortune 500 corporation, describes her company as the kind of place where several generations of a family might be working in the same department.
At least it was until last fall, when the word came down from on high that 1,500 employees were being let go.
“When the layoffs were announced, the staff immediately went into convulsions,” says Gina (who, like all the workers quoted in this story, asked to be identified by a pseudonym). And when an administrator with 25 years under her belt was let go with no warning, the writing on the wall was clear.
“She was devastated and the rest of us felt completely vulnerable – like no one was safe,” says Gina.
To make matters worse, the process has been dragging out for months, leaving everyone trying to conduct business as normal while silently simmering in a stew of anxiety and paranoia.
“It’s like the Gestapo comes in the night – one day someone’s working beside you and the next they’re just gone. And you’re like. ‘Where’s Mike?’ You’re just exhausted from worrying about your job security all the time.”
It’s an unfortunate sign of the times that versions of this scenario are being played out in any number of workplaces around the city, as businesses large and small make serious cuts in their workforces. Announced layoffs at US companies topped 103,300 last month, a 26 percent jump from June and more than double the number from one year ago.
Things are particularly bleak in the financial sector, where pink slips are being handed out like cigars at a christening. Earlier this year, Citigroup laid off 6,000 investment bankers and traders, mostly in its New York and London offices. More recently, Wachovia Bank, which posted a second-quarter loss of $8.9 billion, announced it will cut more than 7,000 full-timers.
The consequences of all this bloodletting are clear enough for those being handed their walking papers. But it can also have a dramatic impact on those left behind, who can experience depression, anxiety, guilt and other symptoms of what’s been dubbed “layoff-survivor sickness.”
“People often go into survivor mode – they can be consumed by fear, stress or anger,” says business consultant Jon Gordon, author of “The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work.”
“Often, they’re no longer thinking about performance or career goals, just, ‘How can I survive? How can make ends meet?’ “
In addition to worrying about their own futures, one of the biggest issues the still-employed grapple with is guilt that they escaped the ax, notes Carole Barnett, a professor of management at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics. And, fairly or not, both things tend to create anger at the people in charge, especially if people see colleagues they respect being let go, rather than just a company’s weakest links.
.”Top management’s job is to do everything humanly possible to keep the vitality of an organization intact so it can survive from one quarter to the next,” says Barnett. “When this kind of thing happens, people look up and say, what are they doing up there?”
Larry Froman, a professor of psychology at Towson University in Maryland, says such issues “can create a downward spiral for the survivors, who begin to feel that no matter how hard they work, that no matter how productive or creative they are, it might very well be them in the next layoff cycle.”
That’s certainly the case at the major banking firm where Richard has worked for close to a decade, which has let scores of workers go in recent months.
“It’s like torture,” he says. “People can’t get anything done, because you never know when you’re going to get called into your boss’ office and get mowed down.”
Sudden e-mails from people announcing the next day will be their last, or office drop-ins from people on their way out the door have become commonplace, as have impromptu drink invites from deposed colleagues calling from a nearby bar, summoning a few friends for a farewell toast.
In one case, Richard was in a meeting with two senior managers who were abruptly summoned by a top boss, and returned 10 minutes later to retrieve their suit jackets and shake hands goodbye.
Needless to say, it’s not the kind of scene that pumps the survivors up to vie for employee of the year.
“It’s totally demotivational,” he says. “It’s like, why bother? You might think people would bear down and work hard, but they know that’s not how decisions are made. It’s not like George Costanza where you can just shuffle your papers and pretend you’re busy and you’re going to be spared. There’s a lot of tension.”
Of course the longer things drag out, the worse problems become. Seth, a staffer at a major media company, says people were nervous after a round of layoffs in December, but that the office went back to normal fairly quickly. “But they just let another 50 people go last week. They said that was it, but that’s what they said the first time. So everyone below director level is preparing for the worst,” he says. “A lot of work isn’t getting done. People are interviewing at other places because they don’t want to wait to be fired,” he says.
SUBHED: New rules
While downsizing has always been a part of corporate life, the rules of the game have changed somewhat in the 21st century. “There have been two major rounds of layoffs so far, and both times the news was on the blogs before the bosses told us anything,” says Mitchell, who until recently worked at a prestigious city law firm which has dismissed some 20 percent of its staff. “It was embarrassing that the public knew before we did, but it felt like the higher-ups didn’t care.”New communications technology has also changed how layoffs are handled, as companies are becoming more concerned with limiting exposure when pink slips are being handed out. “They told me I was fired and within, like, 10 minutes, they pulled the plug on me – my BlackBerry was disconnected, my e-mail stopped working and my computer was shut down,” says Sara, who was recently let go from her job at a p.r. agency. “You’re basically fused to your computer and your phone 24/7 in my line of work, so it was a real shock. I felt like a limb was cut off.” Mitchell, who wound up leaving his firm voluntarily to take a position elsewhere, describes the environment before he left as “grim.” “There was some crying after the last round-you just don’t see that at a law firm of this caliber,” he says.
It was especially traumatic for first-year staffers, he notes, who typically join a firm expecting to work 60-hour weeks building their reputations. “There was no work for them to do. Some people were desperate – taking on any project, even if it was beneath them.”
Gordon says such desperation is a common reaction, noting that some workers will “do anything and everything to please managers because they’re petrified of being fired.” Others, he says, react by “getting political and cutthroat,” while still others do what he calls “emotionally quitting” – “they’re still there, but they’re totally disengaged from the company.”
Naturally, all these things can strain relationships among colleagues. And tensions can especially arise when someone survives and a friend doesn’t. While she was still at her firm, Sara says she made an effort to socialize with former work friends who had been terminated, but found it too uncomfortable. “We went out for drinks, but it was so awkward. I felt like somehow it was my fault they were fired. I felt so guilty I paid for everyone’s drinks, but I think that just made them resent me.” She says it was almost a relief when she finally got her notice. “I used get terrible stress headaches every day. Now at least I don’t wake up worrying if this is the day I’m going to get fired.”
SUBHED: Easing the blow
Some companies are realizing the devastating effects layoffs can have on survivors. The field of change management has emerged to help business leaders and employees weather the storm, and part of the agenda is to keep layoffs from killing a company’s work environment. Gordon cites as a positive example a life insurance company that brought his team in to discuss “termination anxiety” with employees when they had to lay off 2,000 people.
“The managers knew they had a workforce culture to maintain,” he says. “If they had just gone through with a machete, how do you think the remaining workers would’ve reacted?”Such care isn’t taken nearly often enough, says organizational psychologist Ken Siegel, of the Impact Group, who’s often brought in to look at company productivity and morale. He’s echoed by Barnett, who believes companies need to do more after layoffs to “help employees who remain work their way through the psychological and emotional transitions that follow these types of external changes.”
For an example of what not to do, take the major nonprofit where Donna works – where, she says, the bosses flat-out humiliated the staff during a recent round of layoffs. “One Friday morning, they told everyone to shut down our computers and sit quietly at our desks, like we were children. Then HR came around one floor at a time. If your phone rang, you were called into the supervisor’s office and sent packing.” The public manner of the dismissals sent shock waves through the office. “I saw people actually jump when their phones rang – a few girls started crying. I was relieved my name wasn’t called, but at the same time I felt sick to my stomach.”Now, she says, workers feel angry and unappreciated. “It was such a betrayal, people don’t feel loyal to the organization anymore.”Gina likewise says that employee loyalty has taken a serious dive over the past nine months. On the plus side, the siege mentality in her office is finally leveling off after all that time, she reports – but it’s not because the situation has gotten any better. “I hate to be crass,” she says, “but if you live in Baghdad, you start getting used to bombs dropping all around you.”
STAYING COOL AMID THE FIRES
Whether your head’s potentially on the block or not, working for a company hit by layoffs requires some coping skills. Experts offer the following survival tips for those left behind.
Don’t panic. Focus on what you can control – like your relationships with managers and co-workers – and let go of what you can’t. “Uncertainty scares people more than unemployment,” says business consultant Jon Gordon.
Avoid the water cooler. Experts agree that gossiping about layoffs at the office is a big mistake. “It gets ugly fast – and it’s easy to be spotted doing it,” says psychologist Ken Siegel. “Try to conduct yourself like it’s business as usual, at least in public.”
Silence isn’t golden. Gossiping is bad, but so is keeping everything bottled up. “Talking about your anxiety at the situation with people you trust is essential,” says management consultant Morrie Shechtman. “List the doomsday scenarios – ‘Can I pay rent next month?’ ‘Am I going to lose everything I’ve worked for?’ It’s amazing how much that helps.”That doesn’t mean whining, he adds. “Just don’t sit there and bitch about the company,” he says.
Don’t go to HR. “Human-resources departments are not your friend,” says Siegel. “They’re there to do damage control for management.” If you want to get a line on what’s going on, try reaching out to a trusted supervisor.
Manage your career. “Don’t wait for your company to announce layoffs to consider your options,” advises Gordon. “In this economy, you should always be networking and keeping your resume fresh.”
If you are let go, grieve the loss. “It’s a significant blow to your identity,” Shechtman explains. “Don’t just say, ‘Those guys were jerks and I’m glad to be gone.’ Let yourself experience the shock, denial and depression.”
But don’t overdo it. “The worst thing you can do if you’re laid off is go into retreat,” explains Siegel. “It’ll affect how you act in future interviews.” And don’t believe this was the only job on earth. “Remind yourself, ‘I was looking for a job when I found this one,’ ” Siegel says.