economic meltdown, how much do recent layoffs lower the morale of “surviving” employees?
While layoffs may lower the morale of some, I think you need to focus more on the impact of job security and how people respond to that. Some will fear losing their jobs and may not perform up to standard due to that stress. Others will be motivated to work/harder so that they not only retain their jobs but also position themselves for promotion as the economy recovers. Obviously, the management challenge is to encourage the latter positive approach, and to strive to avoid the negative outcome, by raising morale. This requires honest and repeated info- sharing about the true state of the company, its realistic prospects, its strategy to take advantage of the recovery, and to provide some reassurance or level of comfort about job security.
