The purpose of this summary brief is to examine theories and ideas about the downsizing envoys carrying out their role during the redundancy process. In addition, it is also going to discuss the development of research into downsizing process in the organisations and a survivor syndrome. Discussion Companies all around the world have faced economic downturn. In order to survive, companies are forced to cut their costs, e.g., by decreasing their staff. This fact has gained the significant attention of many academics who researched different factors influencing employees and company.
Organisations that want to reorganise or restructure their business by cost-cutting through reduction of work-force, or reorganising upper-level management run to downsizing or redundancy process. The term downsizing is replaced by ‘rightsizing’ because it sounds less drastic. In the UK the term ‘redundancy’ is defined by law as a situation in which, for economic reasons, there is no longer a need for the job in question to be carried out (Taylor, 2010).
Downsizing uses the purposeful loss of people from the workforce to achieve a variety of business objectives, and may combine redundancy, early retirement, outsourcing and attrition (Wolfe, 2004). Rightsizing is an unwanted and inescapable within all sectors of business. From one hand downsizing is traumatic and tense process for employees who are going to be redundant (victims). From the other hand it makes an influence on the remaining (survivors). However it is possible to reduce the negative effects of redundancy by managing the whole process with correct and delicate approach to ‘victims’ and ‘survivors’.
Five major causes for implementing downsizing programme:
Everyone can react differently on cutbacks and it may also depend on how the process was handled by the organisation. The graph below presents several behavioural consequences that survivors might experience: Typical survivor and organisational outcomes of redundancy (Source: adapted from Appelbaum & Donia, 2001). Every organisation passing through cutbacks has its own agents or messengers called envoys – ‘people who break news of redundancy to their colleagues’ (Ashman, 2012).
It is generally considered that the role of envoy is emotionally demanding. Envoys’ role does not have negative effects on health, however as a research has shown that many envoys acknowledged that they drank more alcohol during downsizing activities (Ashman, 2012). Majority admitted that the closer their relationships with the victims the more pressured role became. Envoys must take part in organisations decision regarding their role in downsizing and have to be aware of the reason of redundancy within the company. Moreover envoys should be selected voluntarily. Professional trainings and programmes should be provided by the company which need to cover emotionally challenging aspects of the job.
A set of shared reactions and the emotional, psychological and organisational effects experienced by those who remain employed or survive the job loss process (Brockner, 1992). Survivor syndrome is known by many as common outcome of downsizing which entails psychological and the emotional consequence to survivors. The organisational results will never be only financial in despite of the motivations and organisational change. By performing such procedures, organisations might achieve several goals, but it also has adverse effects which survivors may feel on an organisational and individual level.
The adverse effects may involve:
Survivors are those that remain after a significant cut and who share feelings of job insecurity leading to loss of commitment, feelings of injustice or inequity, stress and burnout (Brockner et al, 1986). Leaving employees are more packaged with days off, redeployment, outplacement and etc. when little is given for the survivors. Survivors are likely to judge the commitment and concern for terminated employees as a reflection of what they may experience if and when further downsizing moves are made (Thornhill and Gibbons, 1995). It is essential to uphold relationship between all employees.
There are rarely any negative organizational consequences for giving early advance notice of the changes that are planned (Leana and Feldman, 1994). It refers trust and commitment of organization. If employer involves its employees in organization’s future plans, development and change employees subconsciously trust their employer and perform a higher level of responsibility. Emtional clusters of redundancy survivors (Noer,2009)
There are two theories which endeavoured to clarify essence of Survivor Syndrome – Becker’s Side Bet Theory 1960 and Burke’s Identity Theory 1991. Both theories consider that the level of performance within the organisation can be as a result of employer and employees relationship in the organisation. Beckers’s Side Bet Theory suggests that individuals make psychological and emotinal investment in organisations which lost when leaving.
The psychological cost increases overtime as the investment increases. The theory would put forward on a hunch that employees who have been for a long time within the company will have considerable impact by Survivor Syndrome. Even so, sometimes employees at a later age or phase might consider it positively and be ready to retire earlier. Moreover younger generation among the employees may be effected as well.
Alternative method is Identity Theory (Burke,1991) that suggests the impact on well-being from external stress may be moderated by psychological relevance ,it has to the individuals’ role identity. In accordance to this, the theory shows relationship that the greater importance a person places on their job as form of self-identification, the greater the psychological impact of change.
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