WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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For many workers, fear of layoff is big motivator
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-08 09:22 And it's hardly guaranteed that anyone's sudden boost in productivity — or attitude — can avert a layoff. Bosses tend to see through behavior that amounts to, well, sucking up, said Gary Walstrom, founder of Culture Index Inc. consulting firm in Kansas City, Mo.
Walstrom helps companies decide whom to let go. He urges them to focus on hard data — shedding the salesmen who generate the lowest revenue or the customer service staffer with the most unresolved complaints. Someone who starts showing up early once the economy sours isn't necessarily worth keeping. Kathie Martin treats each workday as an eight-hour job interview. At 59, she has more than 30 years' experience in marketing and public relations. But she isn't counting on it to assure her job at Alabama Public Television in Birmingham.
Martin had never done fundraising. But her boss offered her a deal: She could stay at the station if she spent most of her time on fundraising. She leapt at the chance. She feels today's tight economy doesn't provide the luxury to turn down any job, even if it's not in your field of expertise. "You can't just rely on what you already know; you have to keep learning," she said. "The more you know, the more valuable to the company you are." Learning how to solicit money has demanded new skills, Martin said. So she's working longer hours — and not complaining about it.
Union president Ken Allen said his members realized that sinking tax revenue could eventually force layoffs. The concessions are temporary, he said. Workers will wait until revenue rises to ask for the raises back. Companies can use the recession as a motivating force, said Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. "It's possible that you can scare people into performing better," Cappelli said. "It is also possible you might be able to engage the employee in some sort of improved performance if there is this view that: 'If we all pull together, we might get through this.'" Not that things always work out smoothly. "Workers in a downturn can also get so nervous that they just freeze up and aren't able to do good work, especially if they're afraid of being laid off and it's not clear what the standards are," Cappelli said. That's why some employees are pushing for more face time with the boss. Luke Walters, an engineering construction consultant in Chicago, grew fearful last year as construction projects slowed. His firm still had work. But he'd heard of engineers being laid off at other firms. He met with his manager. "I said: 'Look, is the economic downturn going to affect me and my position?'" His manager said it eventually could. But he agreed to notify Walters if job cuts might be looming. Meantime, Walters can focus on his work and keep his productivity up, without feeling the need to send out resumes to potential employers. Adams, the St. Louis social worker, wishes she were so relaxed. She fears reduced federal funding could cause staff cuts at her agency. If so, Adams, 30, wants to be last in line when managers start deciding who's expendable. In taking on more than her regular duties, she figures, "I make sure I'm a person the agency can't do without."
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