According to the survey, 64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined and 81% of surviving workers say there’s been a decline in the service the company’s customers are receiving.
"There is a great myth that, following a layoff, the surviving employees will be so grateful that they still have a job that they’ll work harder and be more productive," says Mark Murphy, chairman of Leadership IQ. "But as this study shows, the opposite is usually true."
Part of the problem is that - after the job cuts - employees face an implied "do-more-with-less" work edict. In other words, the survivors are being forced to be more productive as they find themselves having to do new tasks and duties. In a survey by CareerBuilder.com, 47% of workers reported they have taken on more responsibility because of a layoff within their organization, while 37% said they are handling the work of two people. What’s more, 30% are feeling burned out.
"Employees are feeling added pressure as they shoulder heavier workloads and strive to maintain productivity levels," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder LLC.
Robert Hosking, executive director of Menlo Park, Calif.-based staffing firm OfficeTeam, a unit of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI), says that the period following a major work-force reduction is a good time to make sure that employee workloads reflect company priorities.
Key Moves to Make
Constant communication is the first big step. Make sure to speak with those who remain, underscoring their value to the company, while also being candid about just what’s to come.
For instance, don’t tell people ‘no further layoffs are expected’ unless you’re sure that no one else will be laid off. Managers need to be in constant view of their front-line employees, and must be approachable.
