MM: Leaders can do four things to help their employees cope with survivor guilt following a layoff. 1. Engage every day. You can start by adding 15 minutes to the end of your next few staff meetings just for people to ask you whatever they want (or share whatever they want). 2. Focus on controllable issues. Try to engage your folks in conversations that focus on issues over which they have control, and try to avoid topics they can't impact. For example, instead of ruminating about the company's stock price, talk about how you're improving a process to deliver a better customer experience while saving money. 3. Eliminate wasteful meetings. One of the phenomena that greatly exacerbates survivor guilt is the frustration of being overworked doing the work of their former colleagues. Leaders should eliminate all wasteful activities. 4. Eliminate all those activities that aren't important for customers, the government or safety. This way you won't burn out your remaining staff writing those 100-page internal reports that nobody ever reads.
Bob Rosner
Bob Rosner is a nationally recognized observer of workplace trends.
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