Effects of Downsizing on Employees

The “lean and mean” organization resulting from downsizing has given way to emerging management concepts such as employee empowerment and self-managed work teams. These characteristics of the current workplace, in combination with a rise in the use of contingent labour, signify a serious cultural shift away from the traditional “pre-downsizing-era” workplace. Hierarchical, bureaucratic organizations which offered employment for life

Having a job that meets personal satisfaction can boost one’s self-esteem but when this job is taken away, feelings start to change. The article “The Consequence-Undoing Sanity” by Louis Uchitelle, describes a slump that many people in our country are currently in. It shows one individual’s struggle after being laid off from a job. Erin, Stacy’s husband, lost all feeling when he was laid off from his job that he started right out of college, his wife somehow thought he lost part of his identity. Stacy describes in the article, “I think the layoff destroyed his self-esteem” (Uchitelle 342). Having low esteem can truly impact one’s life just like it has with Erin. Erin is impacted by the depressed feelings of losing his job that his work ethics have changed, and he is not putting in his full effort. Uchitelle expressed how Erin’s wife feels about her husband’s change in demeanor, “She doubted

This paper will provide information about three motivational methods I as a manager will apply to my organizational department which must be downsized. This information will include motivational techniques used to implement the change within my department. It will also include theoretical concepts from the textbook, Health Care Management and outside resources to support the theories used. Last the paper will conclude with highlights of the information provided to introduce the change within the organization.

Downsizing refers to the voluntary actions on the part of organizations to reduce the overall size of their workforce, generally to reduce costs. The disadvantages of downsizing in a survey by the American Society of

The first step in effective change management is to diagnosis the current situation. The diagnosis process involves investigating the organisation and looking at the sources of the problem. This includes the employee’s self-awareness of their own stress and sources. Data can be collected via a questionnaire and interviews. The researchers should investigate the work environment and personal stressors. Such common sources of stress can include workload, role conflict and ambiguity, promotional issues, opportunities to participate, managerial support and communication. It is also important to measure the consequences of stress; these can include moods, performance, job satisfaction, absenteeism, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The layoffs are at the heart of the problem affecting the hospital. From the CEO’s perspective, the layoffs are a response to decreased revenues where the facility has to reduce its expenses to stay in operation. In the case of the operations director, the layoffs are a cost-cutting measure and an appropriate response to reduced activity in the hospital. However, the employees are likely to interpret the situation as a lack of proper management or concern for their welfare (Sobieralski & Nordstrom, 2012).

Swatridge realizes the company is not being as efficient as they could be and downsizing is a strategy to keep costs down. Employees throughout the company are aware of this possibility and are constantly concerned about their job security. The uneasiness about not knowing whether layoffs are coming or not has younger employees worried about losing their jobs, older employees wanting to take early retirement, and skilled employees thinking about switching jobs. With the threat of downsizing looming throughout the company, employees are worried about job security, especially ones who have no other skills and would be hard for them to find a new job. There is a lack of communication between managers and workers which is affecting employee morale.

Downsizing is never easy on the Human Resource department. In fact, if not handled properly, it could be detrimental to the overall organization. Here are some challenges that come along with downsizing: Addressing the shifting morale and needs of the surviving employees, maintaining the productivity and profitability of the organization, and retaining skilled, and qualified employees.

A corporation needs to have a strategic plan in place in order for them to be able to implement a downsizing. There are many pros and cons to downsizing and it has a ripple effect on everyone in the corporation. Depending on the planning of the downsizing, one of the big issues to decide on is how to choose who will be terminated. For example, do you go by seniority, a percentage from all departments, an entire department, or by job level or position? These are major options that need to be addressed before anything happens. Most corporations today exist less for the well being of employees than they

This most difficult challenge faced by supervisors and managers is to inform employees that are eliminated from their or job or their employment has been terminated. It is even difficult for the terminating employee to understand the reasons behind layoff and control his or her emotions. Human Resource policies have provided various tools to managers in order to manage layoffs in effective way and minimize their negative influence on the organization by coping up with the negative emotions of the terminating employee (Campbell, 2013). The three most effective ways that should be adopted by managers to cope with such circumstances are:

Downsizing has become a commonplace strategy for organizations to adopt in an effort to cut costs, eliminate redundancies, and streamline organizational systems. Over the last 15 years, many organizations have engaged in downsizing more than once. Most companies have learned from the mistakes of the past, but some companies are still trying to use the same tactics today that were used in the mid 1980s, that leave employees reeling.

Many companies look to salaries and benefits as the first places to cut back when looking to make changes that involve cost-saving. When this happens, it is inevitable that some employees will leave the company to seek employment elsewhere. The employees that remain, whether they stay voluntarily or because they could not find employment elsewhere, are often resentful. Motivation decreases, taking job performance along with it. Employees lose their company loyalty and may even become angry enough to purposefully sabotage the company.

The second stage of the downsizing process, outplacement, is also heavily influenced by legislation aimed at protecting employees. But it is also used to maintain the morale of the work force and to enhance the public image of the company conducting the work force reduction. Outplacement usually includes two activities: counseling and job search assistance. Counseling occurs on both the individual and group levels. Both are necessary to help the displaced worker 1) develop a positive attitude; 2) correctly assess career potential and direction, including background and skills, personality traits, financial requirements, geographic constraints, and aspirations; 3)

The reenergizing employees after a downsizing case study, explains the potential effects of downsizing a company, on both employees and the manager. Andrea Zuckerman is the editor in chief of Blaze and the person who must relay the message to the entire company. It is made clear throughout the case that Andrea does not agree with this downsizing and feels that it is wrong. However, due to the newspaper industry dwindling away and many people now reading the news from a mobile device, it must be done. Andrea’s biggest conflict is figuring out how to properly explain this downsizing to employees, as this is no easy task. The “new normal” that will be implemented consists of merging the five areas of reporting into either two or three. As said, explaining this situation to employees in a reasonable and understanding manner will be a complex task.

The downsizing of a company can affect employees before, during and after it occurs. Employees usually know of a possible downsizing, care of the almighty grapevine, months before it is supposed to happen. Thus, employees may become paranoid and self-absorbed, and their top priority is their own career rather than the bottom line of their employer. This causes them to be unfocused and prevents them from performing their jobs efficiently. Many workers would also be perfectly willing to stab their peers in the back in hopes of keeping their job. Usually when a downsizing is complete, the company is at an all-time low. This is due to the fact that in almost every merger, acquisition or downsize, employees are faced with uncertainty about their jobs before and after the restructure. After a large percentage of downsizes, ten percent of the remaining workforce will easily adapt to the change, while another ten percent will never adapt. Workers who survive the downsize often have feelings of anger, fear or distrust. Further internal problems result from employees who survive with the company, but cannot adapt to their new settings and expectations, and eventually quit their job.