On the TV reality show, "Survivor," each contestant’s main goal is to avoid being voted off the island. In the current job market, the goal is the same. Many men and women lucky enough to have survived a wave of layoffs at their organizations face what a recent Conference Board report refers to as "survivor syndrome." Here’s some advice to help you overcome the management challenges this situation poses.

The Post-Layoff ‘Survivor Syndrome’

Once the dust settles after downsizing, remaining employees tend to experience a feeling of "us against them," with management in the role of “them.” Other typical symptoms of survivor syndrome include decreases in motivation, engagement and productivity. According to the Conference Board report, the syndrome manifests itself in three dimensions:

• Strategic decision making;
• Survivor perception; and
• Survivor reaction.

Management’s ability to overcome the debilitating effects of survivor syndrome on the workforce could well determine whether the organization emerges from downsizing poised for success in the future.

The ‘Survivor Syndrome’ Management Challenge

To help the organization recover from downsizing, the management team must pay more attention to communication, transparency and trust, notes Conference Board research associate, Stephanie Creary. "It’s about taking a strategic approach before, during and after the downsizing so management teams will be able to extract greater employee motivation, engagement and productivity, and foster the performance of the business over the long term," she explains.

Other strategies to keep remaining staff on board include internal communications, such as blogs or brownbag lunches, and providing learning opportunities and training to facilitate job changes and career path transitions.

Conclusion

The mentality of remaining employees is a key factor in an organization’s ability to achieve success after downsizing. It’s not just the manner in which layoffs are carried out that affects the workforce’s mentality; it’s also how effectively you engage employees after the downsizing is complete. The capacity of safety managers and other members of management to diagnose and cure “survivor syndrome” can thus go a long way toward the organization’s survival and future prosperity.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

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