Redundancies: how to manage the survivor syndrome
The "survivor syndrome", which affects those members of the workforce left behind after a round of redundancies, can have damaging consequences for the employer. Here, we look at some steps that employers can take to prevent this developing. These are illustrated in the accompanying case study of Cosworth, a well-known manufacturer of racing-car engines.
What is the "survivor
syndrome"?
Why employers should
treat survivor syndrome seriously
The impact of
survivor syndrome on employers
How to avoid the
development of survivor syndrome
The importance
of communication during redundancies
Communication
helps manage change
Giving practical
help to survivors after redundancies
Case study:
Cosworth tackles the survivor syndrome
Checklist 1: Avoiding
survivor syndrome prior to redundancies
Checklist 2:
Avoiding survivor syndrome through communication processes
Resources
KEY POINTS
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What is the "survivor syndrome"?
The "survivor syndrome" is a term that is applied to the negative impact of redundancy exercises on employees who stay with the organisation.
Individuals who "survive" a redundancy programme are likely to experience a range of strong emotions. These emotions can have a damaging impact on their loyalty to their employer, and on their performance and motivation at work.
The emotions can be provoked in several ways. Survivors may consider that the redundancy exercise has not been fair. Anyone, they come to believe, can lose their job no matter how hard they work or how committed they are to the organisation. Result: a feeling of helplessness, stress and lack of motivation.
Survivors may feel guilty, in that they have kept their jobs while colleagues and friends have lost theirs. Result: loss of motivation and stress.
Survivors may develop a sense of injustice if they feel that those chosen for redundancy have not been treated well. Result: loss of trust in their employer and reduced motivation.
And survivors may feel that information has been withheld. Result: anger, loss of trust and reduced motivation.
Why employers should treat survivor syndrome seriously
The strong emotions that the survivor syndrome can arouse in employees often produce highly undesirable results.
The individuals who are not chosen for redundancy are usually expected to ensure that the organisation continues to function effectively. However, if these individuals suffer from the survivor syndrome, they will not be able to help make a success of the restructuring.
Many redundancy exercises are based on calculations about their potential financial savings and efficiency gains. These calculations usually take into account the prevailing output and performance of the workforce. The negative impact of the survivor syndrome will undermine these assumptions.
Many redundancy programmes involve a selection process. The record of individuals' performance, absence and other factors is often taken into account. These track records may be unreliable should individuals' subsequent performance become impaired by the survivor syndrome.
The impact of survivor syndrome on employers
Research by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES)1 in 2004 into the survivor syndrome has identified the problems that it can create for employers.
The IES says that individuals who survive a redundancy programme can experience:
- lower morale and commitment;
- reduced job motivation;
- lower performance and productivity;
- greater levels of stress;
- greater risk-avoidance and slower decision-making; and
- increased absenteeism.
How to avoid the development of survivor syndrome
There are three basic steps that employers can take to prevent the survivor syndrome becoming a problem when they are making staff redundant:
- developing an effective communication strategy;
- ensuring that the redundancy process is seen to be fair and that those losing their jobs are treated with dignity and respect - see checklist 1; and
- making sure that those who stay - the survivors - are aware that their employer understands they may experience problems after the restructuring, and that they will be given practical assistance after the redundancies have taken place.
These steps are illustrated in the accompanying case study of Cosworth, a well-known manufacturer of racing-car engines.
The importance of communication during redundancies
The research into survivor syndrome conducted by the IES in 2004 (cited above) found that communication with staff is of considerable importance during redundancy exercises - see checklist 2.
Communication, IES shows, helps to reduce the possibility of the survivor syndrome developing among the workforce. An employer should create an information strategy - a "downsizing communication package" - in advance of a potential redundancy situation.
This communication package should be:
- proactive, being initiated by the employer as soon as any redundancy situation is envisaged;
- timely, accurate and thorough;
- aimed at all employees, regardless of their employment status, and one that treats them with respect and dignity;
- intended to prepare employees for the changes and job losses that may occur;
- realistic and accurate in terms of its descriptions of the possible changes and their impact; and
- intended to facilitate discussion about the possible changes, the reasons for them, and their potential implications for employees and the organisation.
The value of this communication process lies in both its content - the information it provides to those who may be affected by redundancy - and, equally, the trust it can help develop between employees and their employer. Being kept informed on a continual basis can reduce the stress that feelings of uncertainty may engender.
Communication helps manage change
The principles of an employer's downsizing communication package should stay the same regardless of whether those involved will be made redundant or are expected to continue to work for the organisation.
Whenever an employer embarks on a change programme, such as redundancies, its relationship with its staff will alter in some way. It is this changing relationship that needs to be actively managed.
The "psychological contract" may be affected unless steps are taken to manage the employer-employee relationship during times when it is put under severe strain. Employees may become demotivated and their performance may suffer. In other words, symptoms of the survivor syndrome may become evident.
Giving practical help to survivors after redundancies
Redundancy exercises usually rely on the survivors of job losses to ensure that the organisation continues to function effectively afterwards.
There may be considerable consequences for survivors of the job losses, in terms of the work they do, how it is organised, the information and skills required and the size of individuals' workloads.
It is therefore important that the staff who remain with the organisation are given practical help to make the best of the situation. Doing so will also reduce the likelihood of employees experiencing the survivor syndrome, with its associated negative impact on morale and performance.
Employers should consider providing help to their remaining employees in the following areas:
- psychologically: showing that they recognise that the employees who are staying with the organisation have been through a significant change process that will affect their working lives;
- psychologically: by acknowledging that survivors' jobs may well have changed as a consequence of the redundancy exercise in the medium to long term, and that there may be an increase in work pressures in the short term; and
- materially: by helping employees and their line managers plan the allocation of tasks, the structure and responsibilities of teams, and the organisation of flowchart and working practices.
1. Survivor Syndrome: Key Considerations and Practical Steps, Helen Wolfe, Institute for Employment Studies, 2004, available only to members of the IES HR Network, contact Paul Fairhurst. A summary is available free on the Institute for Employment Studies website.
This article was written by Noelle Murphy, researcher/writer, Employment Review, noelle.murphy@rbi.co.uk.
Checklist 1: Avoiding survivor syndrome prior to redundancies The ways in which an organisation prepares its employees for redundancies can help to avoid the survivor syndrome and its harmful consequences. According to research by the Institute for Employment Studies, those involved in managing the change process should pay particular attention to the areas in the following checklist:
Source: Survivor Syndrome: Key Considerations and Practical Steps, Helen Wolfe, Institute for Employment Studies, 2004, available only to members of the IES HR Network, contact Paul Fairhurst. |
Checklist 2: Avoiding survivor syndrome through communication processes Communication represents an important part of a change management programme, such as redundancies. Successful communication, according to research by the Institute for Employment Studies, should take account of the factors shown in the following checklist:
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