Looming layoffs can impact employees’ mental health and productivity

    Pennsylvania state employees are likely relieved that massive lay-offs have been averted for the moment with the passage of a statewide table games law. But jobs may still be cut in the future; a kind of uncertainty that is a new reality for many Americans – and could affect their productivity and mental health.

    Pennsylvania state employees are likely relieved that massive lay-offs have been averted for the moment with the passage of a statewide table games law. But jobs may still be cut in the future; a kind of uncertainty that is a new reality for many Americans – and could affect their productivity and mental health.
    (Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

    Listen: [audio:100108msangst.mp3]

    Getting bad news is bad, but not knowing what’s next can be worse, says Ron Hill of Villanova’s School of Business. He says amid looming lay-offs, employees tend to obsess over what will happen, and have a hard time focusing on their work.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Hill: This back and forth, this insecurity of ‘when is the next round going to happen, and really, there is a feeling of distrust, because they don’t know what they are going to hear next, so they hunker down, they try to do their job, stay below the radar screen, but I don’t think it spurs people on to the highest levels of performance.

    Paul Rusch of Penn’s Behavioral Health Corporate Services says prolonged job insecurity can have a lasting impact:

    Rusch: When people start to lose their sense of optimism, the road back towards resilience or revitalization is very difficult, because they have had a change and shift in their mindset, of what they think about themselves, about the organization and about life in general

    Rusch says writing out a short, mid-range, and long-term plan helps employees deal with their anxiety over unemployment.

    Rusch: So instead of them re-thinking and obsessing over and over again, what am I going to do, how do I handle this, where do I go from there for them to sit down and actually write out a plan, here is what I’m going to do, here are some of the things I can do in the meantime, when I can’t get the questions answered, and I’m feeling so anxious and overwhelmed.

    Experts also say companies need strong leadership, honesty, and open lines of communication to weather tough times.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal