Cheezhead Recruiting News and Opinion

Here is more evidence that layoffs have a devastating effect on not just those who are let go, but those who remain employed. A new survey from Kronos Inc. and Harris Interactive reveals that 40 percent of respondents whose workplaces experienced layoffs in the past year feel that the overall productivity of their organization has been negatively impacted.

The “Productivity Drain” survey examines what this means for employees and what they think their employers should be doing to be positioned for success as the economy rebounds.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents employed full or part-time said there had been layoffs in the past year at their primary place of employment. Of those respondents who said that productivity had been negatively impacted by layoffs:

• 66 percent said that morale has suffered and people are less motivated;
• 64 percent said that there is too much work and not enough people to do it;
• 37 percent said the wrong people or departments were laid off, leaving inefficient systems and workflows;
• 36 percent said they are concerned that as the economy picks up, they won’t have the right resources to meet demand.

Despite feeling overworked, 53 percent of respondents said they felt the right number of people were laid off at their organization. Thirty-two percent said they felt too many were laid off and seven percent said not enough were laid off.

Employees also have some advice for employers on how to improve productivity in their workplace. Fifty percent said employers should look for ways to improve morale; Forty-six percent said their employers have processes that should be automated to be more efficient; Thirty-six percent said their organizations should invest in new technology to help manage productivity. More men (42 percent) than women (30 percent) believe this would help; and 36 percent of employees believe that organizations need to take a fresh look at how to redistribute the workload among those employees who are left.

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