So, you’ve gotten laid off… Hopefully you’ve taken the steps I already outlined in my previous two posts about this topic. As the conclusion of this series, I’ll give you all some advice on what to do after a layoff.
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I’ve seen people laid off en-masse by calling everyone into a conference room and having security escort them all out the door, and I’ve seen it done on an individual basis. In the end, there is no good way of laying off employees. During a layoff, people will react in different ways, some are sad, some angry, some will even react destructively. But what is the best way to act? What should you do?
Over the years, I’ve seen my share of layoffs. I’ve seen co-workers get escorted off the premises, and I’ve seen people given a 2 weeks notice. Either way, it always comes as a shock. Most people I know NEED their paychecks. And when that is cut-off, people react in a bunch of different ways.
You get a few people that are just absolutely stunned, they believe that they don’t deserve to be laid off, and that there are others that were somehow more deserving of a termination. There are others that look at it as “heck, I was unhappy anyway… good riddance.” And then there are even others that look at it like its an opportunity to make a change in their lives.
I originally started this series of posts thinking about how you can prepare yourself for a layoff. But what I ended up writing about was a more of a set of tips for dealing with the entire layoff process, from preparing yourself before the layoff to dealing with things after the layoff.
I’ve been in the work force for almost 20 years now, and have seen some good groups to work for, and some not-so-good groups to work for. Over this time, I’ve come to realize that many empoyers just don’t know how to treat their employees well. They assume that just because they are providing a paycheck, that their employees should be happy and do everything they are asked. The truth is, today’s workforce is more willing to jump from job to job than ever before. Companies need to realize that a paycheck is not always sufficient to keep a motivated or loyal workforce. I’m going to assume that everyone can agree that there are numerous benefits to having a happy workplace. It doesn’t take a Harvard study to recognize that productivity levels increase with the level of satisfaction in the workplace.
So, I have provided 10 tips to creating a happy workplace.
