The Psychological Recession

Writing in the August 2008 issue of Trends E-Magazine, Judith Bardwick had this to say, "Today, many employees are so worried about becoming victims of downsizing, outsourcing and off-shoring that they work in a state of perpetual insecurity. And because they feel their employers no longer care about them, they have stopped caring about their jobs." Superimpose on what was written several months ago, with what is going on in the financial world now and you can double or triple this sense of anxiety and fear.

The truth is that people don?t work effectively when they are afraid. Added to that is the sense that they are not valued and the situation becomes magnified. Barwick goes on the say, "When employees are perceived as a cost and not a resource, when they are treated like as a liability and not an asset, when no one seems to know or care that they are there, people don?t work well and they don?t stay." And what is the cost of turn-over? What ever it is, it is much higher than the cost associated with treating people with dignity and respect.

Looking ahead, Bardwick makes this suggestion, "Business leaders must identify their top performers?the ones who are crucial to the company?s success both today and in the future?and they make a visible meaningful commitment to them." Of course, there are few guarantees in a world with great financial, social and political ambiguity; however, a little encouragement and expression of appreciation goes a long way to ensuring people that you truly have their best interests at heart.

Even small manifestations of commitment can have significant impact on performance, productivity and profitability.