Assignment # 2 – Dismissal Meeting Dr. Obi. Iwuanyanwu
HRM 530 Strategic Human Resource Management
February 17, 2014
Strayer University
1. Propose three ways that a manager can cope with any negative emotions that may accompany an employee layoff.
Layoffs are tough for both the employee being laid off and the company for which he/she worked. The situation causes so much uncertainty amongst the remaining employees. The feeling among the employees is; if this happened to them this could happen to me as well. According to Johnson (n.d.), “There is a major disruption in the status quo; relationships are severed, work is redistributed with a probable increase in everyone’s workload.” We as human fear the unknown and will ultimately feel that it’s bound to happen again and will remain on edge until reassured it won’t happen. Three ways the manager can cope with any negative emotions are: communicate with remaining employees, dispel any rumors, and allow employees to vent.
During these difficult times it’s important that management has constant communication with their staff. According to Butcher (2008), “Most employees want to know what will be happening to them, especially whether they will they be laid off.” Each one of the surviving employees wants to know what’s going on no one wants to be left out. When there is something perceived to be a cover up the employees are uneasy. When the employees are uneasy panic and hysteria sets in and production levels go down.
The moment employees get wind of the layoffs or terminations the rumors will start to fly. It all stems from fear of losing their jobs. Employees become untrustworthy of management, so until management presents themselves as trustworthy, employees will continue to talk and spread rumors. Management has to step and in let the employees know the truth about what has happened and what will come next. If there is projected to be
References: Butcher, D. (2008, November 13). 5 Strategies for managing employees after layoffs. Industry market trends. Industry market trends rss. Retrieved from http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2008/11/13/5-strategies-for-employers-managing-surviving-employees-after-layoffs/ Heathfield, S. (n.d.). How to fire with compassion and class. About.com human resources. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/discipline/a/firecompassion.htm Johnson, D. W. (n.d.). The emotional impact of lay-offs and non-renewals. University of Minnesota. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from http://www3.crk.umn.edu/humanresources/Documents/Emotional%20Impact%20of%20Layoffs.pdf Matthews, C. (2002, July 19). The real cost of layoffs by carole matthews inc.com. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/articles/2002/07/24434. Yuille, B. (2012, September 24). The layoff payoff: A severance package. Investopedia. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/negotiating-severance-agreements.asp