You may have just recently made some hard decisions or have been impacted by them during this economic melt down. When these types of decisions are made that drastically impact peoples lives through job loss, pay cuts and other forms of suffering, organizations are faced with the trauma of that event.
Companies make these hard decisions to improve bottom line results or the possibility of closure. Unfortunately companies fail to deal with the trauma, even though the decisions may be needed and appropriate. When the trauma is not addressed, there will continue to be a decline in productivity, moral and bottom line results increasing the chances of further organizational trauma.
After trauma there is a sense of loss, anger, finger pointing and a need to discuss or vent the issue. Eventually resolution with the impact of the trauma will occur. How many companies do you know that figure out a process for how to handle organizational trauma? We all know far to many companies where the tough decisions are made and not a word is said after wards. The expectation is people should feel fortune that they still have a job and should work even harder. It does not work this way.
The remaining employees may have lost friends or families. They know more intimately how these types of decisions will impact individuals, and in many cases feel guilty that they are still employed. Immediately the impact of anger and finger pointing comes forth - the management should have been able to avoid this that is why they make the big bucks, who should have been let go and who remains becomes a huge point of discussion, and ultimately trust goes out the window.
Many of my blog posts have dealt with ways to prepare employees for tough decisions through education, communication, and involvement. This is the best way to prepare and cope with trauma. For those of you who do not believe in these concepts, maybe after experiencing a traumatic organizational event, the light may have come on. Take the time to review the archives of my posts for multiple examples of how to prepare and cope with organizational trauma or visit this sight for an academic perspective.
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