【僥倖逃過裁員 身心狀況變差】

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僥倖逃過裁員 身心狀況變差
* 2009-02-15
* 中國時報
* 【林家群／綜合報導】

　據統計，去年美國有兩百五十萬人丟掉工作，而預估今年至少還有兩百萬人會遭
裁員。而美國《洛杉磯時報》報導，失業者慘兮兮，但僥倖保住飯碗的員工也沒多好
過。

　根據二○○三年一項針對裁員倖存員工身心健康狀況的研究，沒丟掉工作的員工因
角色模糊及工作負擔加重，會喝更多酒並陷入沮喪。調查也發現，職場倖存員工的健康
通常會變差，樣態包括飲食改變、抽更多菸、背頸痛、病假越來越多，工傷事故也隨之
增多。

　組織心理學家藍迪（Frank Landy）說：「裁員對公司及員工來說，在情緒及實
務上都有不良影響」。糟糕的是，這種影響是長期的。

　美國「行為科學研究所」發表的上述研究報告發現，在裁員風暴中倖存的人，心
理陰影至少持續六年，而如果是連續經過數波裁員，那種陰影更會加沈重。

　藍迪進一步說：「雇主只要裁員一次，就會讓員工對他喪失基本信心，這就像談
戀愛一樣，一旦信任被斲喪，就很難恢復」。

　加州Indymac Bank主管華格納深刻體驗了他的銀行經金融海嘯洗禮後的裁員
潮，而雖然工作保住了，但如今他一早必須喝掉三罐低糖可樂，才能克服因超時工作引
起的疲憊與背痛，而如今工作量是以前四個人的量，過去兩年也從未休假。華格納更形
容，處在裁員環境的感覺是「好像在等另一隻鞋子掉下來。」

　美國「全國生涯發展協會」理事長霍萍（Judith Hoppin）在汽車業重鎮密西根州
研究裁員倖存員工狀況近廿年，她說：「大家必須養成『這是暫時的』這種正向態度來
面對問題，如果成天聽壞消息，就真的會自己打敗自己。」

　霍萍表示，倖存員工最好的作法是多運動，攝取充足營養維持健康，並與管理階
層保持溝通，了解公司的優先要務為何。「你該正視的是『我怎樣在公司存活下去？在
這種不景氣下，我如何能幫公司永續經營？』」

　霍萍認為，雇主也須體認到，幫助裁員後留下的員工，也符合公司最大的利益，
如果員工成天緊張兮兮、無精打采或擔驚受怕，就沒有生產力；因此，公司首先要做到
發生什麼事要與員工開誠布公，譬如為何裁員，有無配套措施等。

　甚具規模而重視員工的企業在裁員後，一般都會提供諸如免費諮商、健身中心的
壓力管理服務給留下來的員工。波音公司即使營運走下坡，仍在加州長灘的辦公大樓興
建健身中心給員工用，波音人資主管夏比羅說：「雖然業績下降，但為了同仁的福祉與
健康，我們覺得這是很重要的。」


Layoffs take a toll, even on survivors
Los Angeles Times
11:30 PM EST, February 4, 2009

Pfizer. Saks. Microsoft. The layoff announcements just keep coming. And
they're going to keep coming if the U.S. economy continues its alarming and deepening spiral.

More than 2.5 million Americans lost their jobs in 2008. And at least 2
million jobs are expected to evaporate in 2009, according to the
Conference Board Employment Trends Index -- upping the ranks of the
unemployed and forcing laid-off employees to dredge their safety nets and
call on every available support system. But laid-off employees aren't the
only ones who suffer from staff reductions.

Employees who remain employed are prone to greater role ambiguity and
job demands that can, in turn, contribute to greater alcohol consumption
and depression, according to a 2003 study on the physical and mental-
health effects of surviving layoffs, published by the Institute of Behavioral
Science. In addition, the study found that layoff survivors often experience
worsening physical health: They eat differently, smoke more, suffer from
neck and back pain, and increase their use of sick days. Workplace injuries
also rise.

"None of the effects are good," said Frank Landy, author of "Work in the
21st Century." An organizational psychologist, Landy specializes in
understanding the emotions of work. "Layoffs clearly have emotional and
practical consequences for companies and workers."

Those consequences are, unfortunately, long-term. The psychological fallout
of surviving a layoff lasts six years, according to the study published by the
Institute of Behavioral Science. And the effects of surviving multiple layoffs
are cumulative. .

"It only takes one action of distrust to lose basic confidence in the
employer. It's like a romantic relationship. Once the trust has been
undermined, it's very, very difficult to recover," Landy said. "There's no data
that suggests workers become more resilient. 'I'm a survivor, hear me
shout'? It doesn't happen."

Lingering distrust is one of the final stops on the emotional misery tour
taken by most surviving employees. First, there's the disbelief, anxiety and
desperation resulting from the initial layoff announcement. Then comes the
sweeping sense of relief when one's job is spared, followed, in rapid
succession, by guilt, fear and stress.

"One of the most important things for people to cultivate is a positive
attitude -- the realization that this is temporary. Because if you listen to all
the bad news, it's a self-defeating prophecy," said Judith Hoppin, president
of the National Career Development Association in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Working near the heart of the long-declining automotive industry, Hoppin
has been dealing with surviving-employee situations for almost 20 years.
According to Hoppin, an employee's best courses of action are physical
exercise, good nutrition and communication with management to figure out
the company's priorities. "What you're really looking at is, 'How do I
survive? How do I help the organization thrive under the circumstances?' "
she explained.

As for the employer, Hoppin said, "It's in the company's best interest to
help employees who are left. If somebody's anxious and depressed and
fearful, they're not going to be very productive. So No. 1 is, open
communication about what's happening in the organization: why the layoffs
have occurred, what is the plan. And then providing stress management
services for people who are still there."

Stress management services, such as free counseling and fitness centers,
are often available to employees, but they typically are offered at larger
organizations that understand their value and can afford them. That was
the case at the Boeing Co., which built a fitness center at its Long Beach,
Calif., office 1 1/2 years ago amid a business decline. Boeing's Southern
California operations since have shed more than 300 jobs.

"Even though our business was declining, it was something we felt was
important for the wellness and health of our folks," said Diane Shapiro,
Boeing's director of human resources for space and intelligence systems.
More recently, the company introduced a training session for employees
called "Living in the Layoff Climate."

Boeing provides free counseling to its employees as well. But Boeing is
huge. The world's leading aerospace company employs thousands.

National Public Radio, which staffs 889 workers, offers free counseling. But
employee Leo del Aguila chose not to use it when it was announced in
December that the nonprofit membership organization would shed 7
percent of its work force -- most of it from the West Coast office, where he
serves as technical director on the soon-to-end program "Day to Day."

"I felt like everybody needed a visit to the shrink, including me," said Del
Aguila, referring to the December day when about 30 of his colleagues were
filed in to the human resources office and sent back out with termination
slips. His job was spared, but he says: "That was the saddest day I've ever
had at the company."

Del Aguila's soon-to-be-unemployed co-workers were given more than
three months' notice -- 40 days more than is required by the U.S. Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. WARN, as the act is known,
requires companies to give employees 60 days' notice when planning
large-scale layoffs. So-called over-warning might seem like an act of
managerial kindness on its surface, but it actually leads to more intense
feelings of job insecurity, according to the Institute of Behavioral Science
study.

"I thank my lucky stars in many ways because the network didn't close the
operation," said Del Aguila, who has survived three rounds of layoffs during
his 30 years with NPR.

Still, he added, "All of this shock is giving way to cynicism. Being in our
business nowadays, you have to be a bit callous and also a bit of a skeptic.
We all realize that things are changing."