Survivors of downsizing feel pain, as well

ATLANTA — Nervous because the guy next to you is cleaning out his desk?

Your company may be in the process of downsizing or layoffs.

As the U.S. work force keeps shrinking in a not-yet-declared recession, researchers say smart companies will provide services to help people who are leaving — and also to those who are staying.

"Smart executives know that by not denying the pain of employees, it'll protect their reputation," said Mitchell Marks, a management professor at San Francisco State University who studies downsizings. "If 15 percent are affected by a downsizing, that leaves 85 percent who aren't, and smart bosses want to look as if they care about those who stay. They want to avoid scaring the survivors."

But he says many if not most companies "screw up" downsizings.

"Research shows that helping departing employees will result in less negative reactions among those who're staying and increase productivity," Marks said.

The biggest mistake companies make, he said, is adopting a "let's do this quickly rather than carefully" stance, which denies "normal human reaction to change."

Seminars also should be offered to nonaffected workers, he says, to help them cope with the sadness of losing friends and colleagues.

"It'll pay off in the long run," he said, "and make future recruiting easier."

Bill Hendrick writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.