Protecting Employee Well-being Through Layoffs and Restructuring
- Mind Share Partners
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
While the national unemployment rate has remained steady for the past year, job security doesn’t feel quite as stable for many workers with weekly reports of layoffs happening in most industries.
A number of organizations have cited “low-performance” as the criteria to determine those let go, but rulings at the federal level have called this framing into question.
A former Meta employee who was terminated in the organization's February layoff shared with Business Insider, “During my time there, I received performance evaluations every six months, in which my ratings were always ‘at or above expectation’ or ‘consistently met expectation.’ The morning of my layoff, I felt despondent. I'd worked really, really hard to get this job, had worked long hours, and had put a lot of effort into supporting my team. I just felt this deep sense of defeat.”
For those who remain, layoffs leave the burden of fewer people to manage the workload, which can lead to drastically shifting roles and responsibilities. Just under half of U.S. employees “strongly agree” that they know what is expected of them at work, according to Gallup. Having clear expectations is a foundational aspect of employee engagement and performance. After a layoff, expectations can become murky, making this already existing issue worse.
Executive leadership and HR teams are accountable for the impact of layoffs and employee well-being. This accountability includes those being let go, and the remaining employees—along with the ripple effect on company culture. Though layoffs are difficult, they are a reality and a part of the employee experience. When the process is informed with a well-being lens, trust and organizational culture can remain intact post-layoff.
What HR leaders can do when a layoff is necessary
While organization restructuring in any industry is an unfortunate necessity, there are ways to do so in a compassionate and ethical manner. One that doesn’t require employees who are facing impending layoffs to justify productivity in their roles. To do this effectively, leadership must focus on how the layoff process is designed (including decisions, communications and operations), and how it is executed (along with the aftermath).
Here are some guiding principles.
1. Don’t base decisions on performance alone.
Have each team leader, closest to the functional area, determine their business needs, and design an updated team structure that is going to support those needs. Strategize and scenario plan to come up with the best structure given risks, budget constraints, and other key factors in your workplace.
2. Notify the employees in a reasonable time frame that downsizing is happening.
Admittedly, this can be a tricky balance. Make sure that it’s not so long that it causes wait-time anxiety, but not so quickly that there is no notice and employees are blindsided.
3. Create new opportunities where possible.
For those employees whose jobs are being eliminated, provide an option to apply for other openings in the organization, if available. Make sure to streamline this process.
4. Provide enough severance to ease their transition.
There are key things you can do as an employer to make sure the workers impacted are better set up for a successful transition. For example, you can ensure they are eligible for unemployment and provide guidance around these benefits.You can also provide things like job search assistance or a career coach for several weeks to support their transition. Providing the opportunity for an exit interview can also be beneficial for both the exiting employee and the employer.
5. For remaining employees, put a change management support structure in place.
Discuss the restructuring as a team, and provide processing time during 1:1 check-ins with managers. Make sure to revisit and clarify team expectations in this new chapter.
Yes, these human-centered strategies take more time, cross-functional collaboration, and hard conversations. But organizations can mitigate the greater risk of losing remaining employees due to diminished trust in their leadership and organization. While layoffs are sometimes necessary, leading these transitions with well-being at the forefront can help maintain a productive, mentally healthy, and psychologically safe place to work.
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