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Productivity or Fear
Posted at: May/03/2011 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: Economics,
It has been a couple of years since the “Great Recession of 2008” started. When I turn on the news or check out online articles I see reports that unemployment is down and productivity is up. I suppose it has to be presented this way; our leaders need to sound like cheerleaders in the hope of spurring things forward. I suspect that being able to creatively interpret statistics for your boss is a key skill set in being a political staffer, but it really does not help the rest of us. I hear tell that unemployment is now under 9% from a national average high that was approaching 10%. That change sounds pretty good to me, but I question the numbers. The State and Federal and agencies appear to be only counting those who have applied for, or are receiving unemployment benefits. I know more than a few people whose benefits have been exhausted and it appears they are no longer being counted. Just because you don’t have a job after 6, 9 or 12 months does not mean you don’t want one. I was once told that the difference between a recession and a depression is that in a recession, your neighbor is out of work, in a depression you’re out of work. Is this something you can relate to? The media has been reporting that American productivity is up. Productivity is the measure of the amount of goods produced verses the effort it took to get there. With the fear of being the next one “downsized”, it does not surprise me that those still working are working extra hard. Fear is a great motivator, but at what price? This fear driven pressure is often aggravated by the promise that comes following a downsizing announcement that the company will identify ways to “work smarter” and not just work harder. Let’s be real: If seven people are left covering the work of ten, no one has time to think up new and better approaches to work. Invariably, people work harder and not smarter after a downsizing. Adding to the problem in this fear driven work environment is that people take fewer risks and become significantly less creative. Creativity requires trial and error, and currently no one wants to be the experimenter. Experiments can lead to new approaches, but they can also lead nowhere, then you are potentially blamed for wasting money in the failed effort. It may even be a strike against you when the next job cuts are drawn up. No one wants to be the test case right now. The irony here is that this risk aversion comes just at a time when creativity is needed in the workplace. Research shows that downsizings results in one-time-only cost savings to employers but leaves them no better able to compete in the marketplace. Downsizing has been referred to as corporate anorexia; companies that downsize get thin, but they are seldom any healthier in the long run. What can be really disturbing for surviving employees about downsizings is that they cannot control or rationalize the events. If I have a co-worker who frequently arrives late and does low quality work, I can rationalize her layoff by saying to myself, “She didn’t carry her weight and deserved to be let go.” If, instead, my co-worker seems to work as hard and as well as I do and then, through no fault of her own, happens to be the victim of a “reduction in force,” I cannot rationalize that. More importantly, I fear that I cannot control my situation: in the first scenario, I have a sense of control over my fate by continuing to do high-quality work. In the second scenario, working hard or working well doesn’t seem to help me retain my job. Unfortunately, most people in a downsizing or layoff feel they have no control whatsoever and, as a result, become quite anxious in how they are dealing with their new situation. And what about anxiety? A little anxiety once in a while can be a good thing and spurs us forward; on a sustaining basis it can be detrimental. Anxiety typically arises when people feel they are about to become victims of situations over which they have no control or are faced with a task that they aren’t sure they can do well. Obviously, the workplace is an especially fertile place for producing anxiety oriented situations, even in best of time. Now, as companies pare their staffs and overload the remaining employees with more work, anxiety can spread in an almost viral like manner through the work space; factory floor or office cubicle…it really does not seem to matter. Anxiety carries both a physical and a psychological price. On the physical side a pounding heart, sweaty hands, headaches, muscle stiffness and soreness along with sleep deprivation and indigestion are all common. On the cognitive side anxiety often affects people’s memories and ability to concentrate. They forget names of people or forget what they need to do. They often don’t process information well, and have trouble understanding and following instructions. No matter how carefully you explain what you want them to do, they can’t seem to get it right. I suspect there is some primal engine at work when anxiety is present; high level processing seldom works well and fear dominates the survival instinct. Fear also starts to rule the choices that an employee makes. Despite that fact that vacations and sick time off are intended for mental health and reinvigoration, people are now often forgoing taking time off in a tenuous work climate. “The last thing I want to do is take a week off and have my manager realize she can get along without me.” Is that a familiar sentiment? Let’s return to an earlier sentiment. I hate that statement managements make about “working smarter” instead of “working harder.” The bottom line is that when you lay people off, or as is commonly said, downsize a manager has to be making a decision about level of service. Unless a team or business unit was especially fat with excess staff to begin with, laying someone off means everyone left has more to do. A friend of mine a few months back requested a day of vacation after 4 months of never missing a day. His intent was to get in a round of golf and just try and get away from the normal stresses. His manager denied the request stating that they could not afford to have him out. At some point a decision has to be made that cutting staff means also reducing the level of service or the turn-around time being provided. The reality is that fear has already won the day. Recent surveys indicate employees are less interested in a “kumbaya” like culture which generally stresses emotional well-being. Now the trend is to just be happy you have a job and keep your mouth shut about other issues. Fact is that a recent survey of 2200 managers found that more of their staff are eagerly raising their hands and volunteering for extra job duties. I guess it is a bad time to bang on the desk too loudly. Eventually I know this recession will turn around. The business offering the best culture and climate in the future will end out with the best staff and launch themselves forward. Other businesses will have to do the same to stay competitive or catch up…but unfortunately we are not there yet. Until market forces turn thing around there is always timing and collective rationalization. The good news is that there is a general collective rationalization about the ongoing trend of layoffs. After all, a layoff in a recession carries less potential shame than being let go in the “good” times. People don’t feel the sense of shame. And think of the people who have already dropped out of the labor market. I think of all the men and women who are in their 50’s or later who wondering if they will ever find work again. With 30 years or more of experience as managers, engineers, contractors, and a myriad of other jobs, they at least proudly point out that they only lost their jobs because of the recession. I guess that retraining is the best option and hope you picked the right horse to bet on. I once heard being out of work described as a “near-death experience.” Apparently, much like the gravely ill person in the hospital bed, all the surrounding doctors and nurses are talking to each other. The doctors may even be talking about the patient, but virtually no one is talking to the patient. Somehow you are not in the room or being noticed. I guess I should check the scorecard. Our government is in denial about how many are out of work. We can no longer afford many of the public services promised us just a few years ago. My manager wants me to work smarter. The last thing I want to do is risk lowering my productivity. I guess the only thing left is for me to raise my hand and volunteer for more duties, I know I am not going to take any vacation.
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