Getting Employees Out of the Corona Blues | Human Resource Management Software

The pandemic depresses the mood, short-time work and layoffs do the rest. Fear paralyzes employees and productivity in organizations drops. Managers are challenged to manage mental stress and motivate their teams.

It is not just an art to part with employees in an appreciative way. It is also a great challenge to maintain the motivation of the employees who remain in the company. Because if colleagues are put on the street through no fault of their own in economic emergencies such as the Covid 19 crisis, this not only has negative effects for those affected. 

Scientific studies have found that mass layoffs in companies significantly reduce the job satisfaction of those who remain, depress mood, and lower performance. According to Springer author Oliver Heun-Lechner ( "Participants and their behavioral typologies"), the four types of reaction that show up in such situations are insulted, loyal, complainers and supporters Company cares.

How layoffs affect the workforce

The organization and personnel consultancy Korn Ferry names five factors that have a major influence on the negative effect of mass relief on employees:

• Individual closeness to those affected 
• Subjective perception of how fair those affected were dealt with despite the inevitable decision and consequent consistency 
• Degree of personal identification with the company, its value, people, and products - before the layoffs 
• Expression of one's own self-esteem
• Subjective perception of one's own job security
• Not only those affected suffer when they are dismissed

Companies are therefore well advised to consider measures to keep the workforce happy when there is a wave of layoffs. "And the following applies: The worse the mood is, the more extensive and preventive these measures ultimately have to be to compensate for the loss of productivity," says Thomas Faltin, an expert on organizational development at Korn Ferry.

One way of countering fears and insecurities can be psychological support in the form of dialog offers or coaching, the expert advises. Changes should also be made quickly after the layoffs, "but always value the legacy of the layoffs".

The SHIELZ model

More than ever, managers in the corona crisis need skills to be able to deal with uncertainties and fears, says Springer author Torsten Schrör. In the book chapter "Leading powerfully in a crisis", the coach for personality development presents the SHIELZ model as a solution. The six-step model is intended to enable managers to get started with dealing with feelings such as fear and insecurity in a crisis-proof manner. SHIELZ is an acronym, formed from the first letters of the six measures.

Six steps to more leadership competence in crises

• S inn - Define the guiding star of my economic activity 
• H Management - accept difficult feelings 
• I nnehalten - interrupt Handlungsautomatismen 
• E igenempathie - accept uncertainty and fear 
• L oslassen - goodbye to the "old" 
• Z ulassen - Try out the "new"

For a better understanding of the model, Schrör refers to how human behavior works. According to this, internal states such as fears are processed unconsciously. Unconscious, emotional automatisms of action are the result since fears "mean danger and a reaction that is supposed to offer protection must take place quickly and without thought or awareness".

Do not hide dismissals

This automatism has to be broken through conscious processing. Self-management and the conscious selection of options for action should take the place of protective reflexes. The Springer author explains the problem because a manager can hardly empathize with unsettled employees if they display dominant behavior as a typical unconscious fear reaction. Emotionally intelligent leadership in times of crisis absolutely needs empathy and clarity, is Schrör's conclusion.

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In the opinion of Korn Ferry expert Thomas Faltin, what is by no means well-received in times of crisis is simply to remain silent about layoffs. "The silence does not mean that the situation simply passes," says Thomas Faltin. "It is crucial to show those who remain a clear perspective very quickly and thus give them the chance to fit into a new structure." Action and communication must therefore go hand in hand in times of crisis.