The constant fear of downsizing, mergers, and outsourcing debilitates and distresses the people you’re counting on to get the job done. If your organization has laid people off, employees fear that lightning will strike twice in the same place. If your organization has avoided a layoff, people worry that their workplace might be next.
Nearly everyone in America knows a family member, friend, or neighbor who has been “let go.” No industry seems immune to the epidemic. As the pundits argue about the details of economic forecasts, most employers concede that the promise of a gold watch has been replaced by the possibility of a pink slip.
So, how can you enable your employees to take charge of their own careers and prepare for an uncertain future? A shift in the business climate is forcing employees to focus all their energy on being ready to make a living no matter what organizational earthquakes erupt.
Your attitudes and actions will set the pace as people in your organization adjust their beliefs and behaviors to the realities of the new workplace. When you switch from defending the disappearance of job security to initiating dialog about what constitutes the new career security, you’ll be empowering people in your organization to be “eager to stay and prepared to go.”