Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9509290092
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LINDA SHRIEVES ORLANDO SENTINEL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
These days, you and your colleagues are more likely to huddle at the coffee pot and guess which department will be trimmed next. And dreams of retirement? Ha. Everyone's afraid they'll be forced into early retirement.
Today the American work force is gun-shy. As more and more companies are cutting jobs, more and more workers are feeling threatened.
In a 1994 survey of more than 350,000 American workers, the International Survey Research Corp. found that 44 percent of them are worried that they may be fired or laid off. In 1990, only 20 percent said they were worried about losing their jobs.
And no wonder. Between 1991 and 1992, 2.5 million full-time jobs were eliminated. Those are the most recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - and they don't reflect the downsizing-happy years that have followed.
Those nagging fears can paralyze you - keep you awake at night, stop you from venturing into anything risky at work, even make you hesitant about making major purchases.
There are ways you can cope with job insecurity - as both an employee and an employer.
From a worker's standpoint, the prospect of being let go is frightening. Take one secretary who declined to give her name. She's not as worried about her job as she is her husband's.
``He has been with Southern Bell for 30 years, and he is really worried,'' she said. ``They recently announced plans to let go of another 15,000 people. It's hanging over them. When he started working with Southern Bell, he figured it would be his lifetime job. Now he's 52. If they force him out, where does he go?'' He has good reason to be nervous. But why are the rest of us so addled about layoffs? Some people are worried - and their companies haven't been cutting jobs.
``There's a collective sense of nervousness about job security, and people are more nervous than ever before,'' said Mitchell Marks, director of the Delta Consulting Group in New York and author of a book on surviving downsizing.
``They hear that another division of their company is letting people go, or they hear about a relative who has lost his job, or just reading in the newspaper about layoffs. All of it makes them nervous.''
What makes workers even more anxious is this: No matter how terrific a worker you are, it doesn't seem to guarantee that your job won't be the next on the chopping block.
``It used to be the low performers were getting axed,'' Marks said. ``But now people look around, and they see that it doesn't matter how hard you work, how good a job you're doing. You could be next.''
How does that affect the workplace?
People get distracted. They lollygag around the water cooler, the lunch table or the coffeepot, trading rumors.
``It affects both the quality and quantity of work,'' Marks said. ``Employers have to accept a certain amount of distraction. When workers wonder what's next, it means a loss of focus that used to go into your job. Employers can't expect loyalty, and employees can't be naive enough to assume that loyalty will be rewarded.''
How can companies repair the damage done by a downsizing? Senior managers, Marks said, should call the remaining employees together and talk. Then executives need to acknowledge what people are going through.
After a downsizing, Marks says too many managers pretend nothing has happened - and hope employees will get right back to work.
It doesn't happen, Marks said. By failing to address the problems, management lets the rumor mill run rampant.
Managers who have been through wave after wave of downsizing are the ones who call in the troops and console them. ``They've seen the effect that downsizing can have on the workplace,'' Marks said. ``It's the experienced downsizers who bring us in.''
Unfortunately, too many supervisors don't respond well when layoff survivors complain. Employees who have been asked to ``do more with less'' may not be getting much support or empathy from supervisors, who tell employees they should be glad they still have jobs.
``Unfortunately, that's the norm,'' Marks said. ``When a supervisor says that, I'd respond by saying, `I'm working harder, getting less reward. I'm not glad about that.'''
Regardless of what management does after a downsizing, there are ways the survivors can cope.
Be pro-active. First, acknowledge to yourself that what you're feeling is legitimate.
``Loss of a job is a very stressful event, even if you're not the person who lost the job,'' said Carl Nickeson, an Orlando psychologist. ``You will still feel stress, especially if you're close to someone who lost their job. It's called survivor's guilt. Soldiers have it when their comrades die.''
If layoffs occur in another division of your company and you don't know the people who got laid off, you might not feel as bad. But you could still be feeling uneasy.
``That would just make it more apparent that it could happen to you too,'' Nickeson said.
How do you cope with this job insecurity? The same way you should cope with any stress, he said.
Exercise is terrific for reducing stress. It also helps to talk about the situation - whether to your siblings, your best friend or others at work.
Ignoring the feeling of impending doom could be the worst tactic of all. ``I think that would be like sticking your head in the sand,'' said Nickeson.
Instead, be pro-active. Dust off that resume. Start networking again - whether it's with old college buddies or people at the chamber of commerce. Be visible at work - serve on task forces or volunteer for additional training.
Also, recognize that ``success'' at work no longer means climbing the corporate ladder.
``These days, we need to redefine what success means,'' Marks said. ``Holding on to your job may be success or getting a lateral transfer. Moving up is no longer the only way to measure success.''
Have a positive attitude. And - this is very important - be prepared mentally.
``Be ready,'' Marks said. ``Rather than just fret about the possibility, be ready with a plan if you're going to lose our job. Who would you call? What would you do first? You may never need to use it, but it's a healthy mental exercise.''
In today's work environment, attitude is everything.
``It's not what happens to you, it's what you tell yourself about it that matters,'' Nickeson said.
by CNB