Layoff Survivor Syndrome

Faced with the need to layoff employees, most companies rightly focus on the needs of those being laid off. We offer them career and personal counseling; we give them a severance package intended to bridge them to the next job. We escort them out of the office discretely so they do not lose face and maybe even give them a taxi chit to get home. We do this because we care for them as people and, frankly, we don’t want them to take legal action.

But what about those left behind, those who still have a job after a round of layoffs? Some suggest that these people are more the victims than those who are laid off. And most companies don’t spend enough time and energy on those left behind.

The people left behind on the job can experience of whole range of emotions – guilt (that they still have job), exhaustion (because they have to do more work), paranoia (that they may be next), confusion (about the direction of the company), panic (to find more secure work).

And these emotions are often accompanied by an increase in physical illness (colds, stomach aches, etc.) due to immune systems that have been weakened by stress.

These feelings and illnesses are so common that there is actually a term for it – Layoff Survivor Syndrome. Layoff Survivor Syndrome is defined as the emotional, psychological and physical reaction to layoffs in workers who remain in the job.

There is a lot of advice on how to care for those left behind including:

• Explain the business reason for the layoffs
• Explain the rationale behind the choice of who stays and who goes
• Clarify how things (reporting relationships, job descriptions) will change
• Ensure senior leaders are present and accessible
• Encourage people to use the Employee Assistance Program

And don’t forget the impact layoffs can have on corporate culture. People may well question the stated vision and values of our companies when we have to lay off good people. They may well become uncertain about “how things are done around here.”

Layoffs can be a brilliant opportunity to re-articulate, re-invent the culture of the company. But this will not be accomplished by letters from the CEO, no matter how sincere. Culture change happens indirectly – a combination of observed behaviour, new narratives about the purpose of the company, a new vision of the future.

If we have to lay people off, most of us want to do it well. We spend a good amount of time and money on outsourcing support and severance packages. But let's not forget to spend time and energy on the people left behind. They need as much, maybe even more, support as those who are gone.