At a recent social event, I found myself saying that Corporate Medical Directors have less job security than pot-sniffing police dogs. Think about it. CMD’s are not unique; job security is a scarce commodity in today’s business world. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic was an employment disaster, but even in today’s relatively robust economy layoffs and reorganizations are frequent, or even common. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1,498,000 American workers were laid off or discharged from their jobs in June, 2024 (Although there was a net growth of jobs, it still left over a million Americans in transition.).
Although terminations occur in drips and drabs on a daily basis, large-scale reorganizations are also a fact of life. They are linked to strategic business decisions, such as reducing unprofitable lines of business, outsourcing, off-shoring, merger-related redundancy, or just to meet cost-savings targets. When staffing reduction decisions are made, it’s not at all uncommon for medical directors to get a call. Typically, an HR manager will phone with the news (highly confidential) and will request mental health support. Almost always there will be an ask for on-site counselors on the day of the announcement. In our opinion, it’s a crappy idea.
First, think about grouping individuals who are emotionally impacted by a large-scale layoff. Of course there are the workers who will be losing their jobs. But then, there are the employees that have been spared. Survivor’s guilt aside, they are facing increased work loads, and ongoing uncertainty about their status. Often, they view those being laid off as the lucky ones. Company leaders may feel the pain of difficult decisions that they know will disrupt the lives of many in their “workforce family”. Perhaps the toughest position is middle management. Supervisors have the dual responsibilities of supporting their subordinates, while also looking out for their own asses. Finally, family members are invariably stressed by reorganizations. They are the primary support for impacted spouses or adult children. A comprehensive mental health response program needs to recognize these cohorts, the differences in impact and the best support strategy.
With that in mind, think about the timing of mental health (generally EAP) support services. Imagine this message from a site head. “I realize that this downsizing will be stressful for many of you. We have a mental health counselor here today, ready to assist.”
If you consider it from the employee’s perspective it could be extremely off-putting. “I don’t need a psychiatrist, I need a job!”
Even if the message is well-received, there is virtually no role for mental health counseling at the time of an announcement. Stunned employees simply will not turn to an unknown mental health professional. Rather, they will seek solace from coworkers, trusted friends or family.
There’s another misconception about the role of on-site EAP in these situations. They do not intercede on volatile situations where employees may react inappropriately or aggressively. Their job is to assess, engage and refer to established mental health resources. If there is concern about the immediate reactions to a layoff announcement, have the site nurse and security on hand.
We recommend a three-step EAP deployment strategy as follows:
1. Preparation-Make sure the designated counselor is deeply familiar with the situation and how it might impact employees. That understanding includes both mental health vulnerabilities and work-life issues that might be anticipated (For example, employees may need to contemplate relocating their families to less expensive or more employment-friendly locations.). It is absolutely essential to team the EAP service with the outplacement advisor. Absent collaboration, the holistic response will likely be inefficient and poorly effective.
2. It is reasonable, but not essential to highlight EAP resources on the day of the announcement. More important is messaging within the first few days after the bad news is delivered. This should include the role of a designated counselor, contact information and availability. Ideally, separate messaging should be designed for each of the impacted groups described above.
3. On-site counseling should be planned for a week (give or take) after the formal announcement. By that time, employees will have processed the news and either started moving through the states of loss (Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) or will require emotional health assistance (whether they request it or not).
The take-home message is to be thoughtful about utilizing EAP services when layoffs are announced. Keep in mind that there are different constituencies among impacted workers. Don’t forget about family distress; they are eligible for support services. And certainly, be careful about the timing of site-based counseling. The best approach may seem counterintuitive, but is the most cost-sensitive and effective way to connect employees with the care they need.
At a recent social event, I found myself saying that Corporate Medical Directors have less job security than pot-sniffing police dogs. Think about it. CMD’s are not unique; job security is a scarce commodity in today’s business world. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic was an employment disaster, but even in today’s relatively robust economy layoffs and reorganizations are frequent, or even common. Here’s current data from the U.S. Department of Labor. It shows the seasonally adjusted layoff and discharge rate:
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t05.htm.
Although terminations occur in drips and drabs on a daily basis, large-scale reorganizations are also a fact of life. They are linked to strategic business decisions, such as reducing unprofitable lines of business, outsourcing, off-shoring, merger-related redundancy, or just to meet cost-savings targets. When staffing reduction decisions are made, it’s not at all uncommon for medical directors to get a call. Typically, an HR manager will phone with the news (highly confidential) and will request mental health support. Almost always there will be an ask for on-site counselors on the day of the announcement. In our opinion, it’s a crappy idea.
First, think about grouping individuals who are emotionally impacted by a large-scale layoff. Of course there are the workers who will be losing their jobs. But then, there are the employees that have been spared. Survivor’s guilt aside, they are facing increased work loads, and ongoing uncertainty about their status. Often, they view those being laid off as the lucky ones. Company leaders may feel the pain of difficult decisions that they know will disrupt the lives of many in their “workforce family”. Perhaps the toughest position is middle management. Supervisors have the dual responsibilities of supporting their subordinates, while also looking out for their own asses. Finally, family members are invariably stressed by reorganizations. They are the primary support for impacted spouses or adult children. A comprehensive mental health response program needs to recognize these cohorts, the differences in impact and the best support strategy.
With that in mind, think about the timing of mental health (generally EAP) support services. Imagine this message from a site head. “I realize that this downsizing will be stressful for many of you. We have a mental health counselor here today, ready to assist.”
If you consider it from the employee’s perspective it could be extremely off-putting. “I don’t need a psychiatrist, I need a job!”
Even if the message is well-received, there is virtually no role for mental health counseling at the time of an announcement. Stunned employees simply will not turn to an unknown mental health professional. Rather, they will seek solace from coworkers, trusted friends or family.
There’s another misconception about the role of on-site EAP in these situations. They do not intercede on volatile situations where employees may react inappropriately or aggressively. Their job is to assess, engage and refer to established mental health resources. If there is concern about the immediate reactions to a layoff announcement, have the site nurse and security on hand.
We recommend a three-step EAP deployment strategy as follows:
1. Preparation-Make sure the designated counselor is deeply familiar with the situation and how it might impact employees. That understanding includes both mental health vulnerabilities and work-life issues that might be anticipated (For example, employees may need to contemplate relocating their families to less expensive or more employment-friendly locations.). It is absolutely essential to team the EAP service with the outplacement advisor. Absent collaboration, the holistic response will likely be inefficient and poorly effective.
2. It is reasonable, but not essential to highlight EAP resources on the day of the announcement. More important is messaging within the first few days after the bad news is delivered. This should include the role of a designated counselor, contact information and availability. Ideally, separate messaging should be designed for each of the impacted groups described above.
3. On-site counseling should be planned for a week (give or take) after the formal announcement. By that time, employees will have processed the news and either started moving through the states of loss (Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) or will require emotional health assistance (whether they request it or not).
The take-home message is to be thoughtful about utilizing EAP services when layoffs are announced. Keep in mind that there are different constituencies among impacted workers. Don’t forget about family distress; they are eligible for support services. And certainly, be careful about the timing of site-based counseling. The best approach may seem counterintuitive, but is the most cost-sensitive and effective way to connect employees with the care they need.