Layoffs are still going on, although the economy as a whole is improving. In advertising, when accounts are lost, heads often roll because there is less money to pay people. In other industries, layoffs are caused when two companies merge and there are ‘redundencies’ of positions, so one is eliminated. One company in every merger is the dominant culture and more of their employees tend to survive with positions intact. Do you keep your ear to the ground in your company? How do you gauge what the climate looks like?
Understandable but there is a profound consequence in any company when layoffs occur. Morale tanks as people mourn lost colleagues and friendships. With less hands to do the work (which still needs to get done), most employees work harder and feel less appreciated. Depending on the scope and level of surprise about who is let go, fear can stalk the halls as people wonder if they might be next. Trust in the company is damaged and leads to a ‘We shall see…’ attitude when upper management speaks blithely about things getting better, turning around. It doesn’t look like it to us in the trenches when layoffs happen. Trust, once lost, is hard to restore.
What can be done? Well, there are a few possible ways to react.
1) Pretend everything is OK and your job is secure. In fact, you believe yourself to be indispensable. Bad move – nobody is irreplaceable, NOBODY. You might want to consider expanding your skill set to increase your marketability or creating a financial safety net, just in case.
2) Do your job with a bare minimum of effort, dust off your resume and start contacting headhunters for a way out. Be serious about this if you are going to make a move. Operating with one foot out the door is an impossible way to keep working effectively and, too many mistakes may lead to termination against your will. Talented people often leave after a round of layoffs because the work environment is so painful and unsettled and they can find another job easily. They won’t be back once that trust is broken.
3) Do your job with excellence and wholeheartedly and set up additional streams of income (real estate, online marketing, network marketing, businesses, work from home options, etc.) on the side. You have been kept for a reason and you are valuable and appreciated. As long as you choose to stay, do your very best. Know that uncertainty is part of the job market ALWAYS, with ANY company and prepare for it. This is the option I favor.
The only elements you can control are your own skills, marketing, endeavors so, if you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, you can capitalize on one and complement with alliances for the other. If you are not reliant on any one market, as markets go UP and DOWN always, you have a better chance of riding it out. Also, the practice of excellence in all your circumstances (whether or not you feel like it) is a mark of character that is noticed in the world, trusted and invested in.
Maybe your company is thriving and there is no danger of layoffs at this time. And maybe it’s not. Whatever your situation, are you ready?
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