Saturday, June 20, 2009

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Layoff survivor syndrome hits India Inc

Akash Mehra (name changed), who works with one of India’s top five IT firms, should be a happy man. He still has a job when hundreds in his firm were fired for underperformance. But the emotions playing on his mind are those of anxiety, guilt and fear. Fear, that he may be the next one asked to go.

Mr Mehra is not alone in his fear. Talks of green shoots have boosted hopes of an early recovery, but companies may not be done with layoffs just yet. Layoffs impact not only the people who have lost their jobs, but also those who survive the axe.

Psychologists call it the layoff survivor syndrome and there is proof that it has started to spread like a contagion.

“What comes out as layoff survivor syndrome is a whole lot of anxiety about their future and guilt that they alone have survived. They have nightmares that they have lost their jobs or their colleagues committing suicide,” said Dr Vasundhara Cartick, a psychologist and consultant, who has worked closely with layoff survivors.

This feeling of uncertainty is heightened by the random nature of layoffs. If an employee is fired for underperformance, colleagues are less anxious. But, when an equally competent peer is fired, it spreads anxiety among employees.

Employees whom ET spoke to said that losing a colleague is akin to losing a sibling. “Most of us work in teams, on projects, and we work day in and out to meet stiff deadlines. There are bonds, and if people are selectively laid off, we also feel the pain. We feel guilty and helpless and that there would not have been layoffs if we all collectively did better as a team,” Mr Mehra said.

In some organisations, employees have come to dread Fridays, because layoffs are usually announced on that day.

But even as they miss the social aspects of the workplace ‘jokes and breaks and lunches’ employees left behind often are angry at being left to resume greater responsibility.

“We have to shoulder more work these days, as the work load has increased after my colleagues were fired. I am now doing the work of two people, and taking home a smaller pay check,” said an employee who works for a Bangalore-based BPO.

Increased stress levels, are in turn taking a toll on the health of the employees, leading to physical illnesses.
“Most of the referrals coming to us have also complained of aches, pains and fatigue — nothing that has a medical reason, but purely a psychological basis,” Vasundhara Cartick.

While the recession may have forced companies to downsize, human resource consultants say a one-time cut-back exercise could reduce the pain felt by the survivors. “It is always better to opt for a one-time deep cut for organisations looking at laying off staff. This could reduce the pain felt by survivors.

Most of the times, organisations do rounds of layoffs. This may not be a very good strategy as it leaves people perpetually anxious,” said E Balaji, chief executive of Ma Foi Management Consultants.

The firing exercise should always be backed by outplacement assistance for the employees laid off and counselling for those who are retained in the firm. While it is important to save costs during a downturn, the aftermath of the exercise could impact productivity to a great extent if employees are not treated fairly, Mr Balaji added.

Since India has still not firmed up a social security policy, the challenge for employers is to balance the economic benefits with the social devastation that layoffs cause.

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