Survivor syndrome: working in times of crisis

For almost a year, Susana Rosales, an administrator in a Barcelona factory, watched with suspicion as her colleagues were fired one by one. The operators, the salespeople, their colleagues in the administration department and even the marketing manager.

"Every time I attended a colleague's farewell I thought it would be the next. I felt lucky for continuing to work at the company, but it was really stressful to think that any day it would be my turn. This situation affected me on a day-to-day basis and caused me anxiety and insomnia, "says Rosales.

Survivor Syndrome at work

As in Susana's case, the interruption of normality in working life due to “downsizing”(Downsizing) causes employees to have to adapt to a new situation that can have a negative effect in the well-being and satisfaction not only of those who lose their jobs, but also of those who keep their jobs. This phenomenon, first studied by Noer, is known as the "Survivor syndrome”. It is characterized by high levels of anxiety and stress (or burnout), lack of motivation and affective commitment towards the organization, general dissatisfaction and distrust towards the company.

According to European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) "many factors affect the well-being of employees, and the economic and social environment is extremely important in this regard." Therefore, it recommends: “The psychosocial factors related to work, economic contexts and social contexts that cause discomfort should be modified to reduce the dissatisfaction levels”.

The truth is that, given the impossibility of changing the economic or political panorama of a country in times of recession, many are affected by this syndrome. A study by Jussi Vahtera, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, found that “in times of crisis those who keep the job increase 5 times the probability of suffering from diseases cardiovascular ”. The causes? Increased stress, excessive workload, and ongoing job insecurity.

Stress and burnout and its relationship with workers' health

As we already commented in the article "Burnout: How to spot it and take action"stress and job satisfaction have become an important factor in the workplace in recent decades. Psychosocial risks and burnout are among the problems that pose the most difficulties in the field of safety and health at work, since they significantly affect people and organizations.

For the worker it causes consequences at a physical, emotional or behavioral level, and for the company, it negatively affects the organization, the work environment, the performance or at relationships. In this context, feelings arise in employees such as indifference, despair in front of work, increased demotivation or an increase in the desire to leave the job that can lead to abandonment of the profession in many cases. In many companies there is a high rate of absenteeism due to this phenomenon.

Crisis? More work and more uncertainty for survivors

Many companies are not on the fringes of the economic crisis in which the European Union lives, and for this reason layoffs are becoming something frequent within companies. The labor survivor in time of crisis You bear the added pressure of having to work longer hours to do the tasks of your colleagues who are no longer there. This added pressure and the afraid being able to be fired at any time can cause irritability, difficulty concentrating and, in some cases, anxiety attacks ”, as Julie Monti explained to the magazine Today´s Chicago Woman.

This syndrome is acquiring such relevance that it arouses the interest of scientists, organizations, Human Resources departments and even governments. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality U.S. provides scientific evidence that relates the number of workers with the discomfort at work. This study shows the close association between a deficient endowment of human resources and the consequent appearance of stress, burnout, psychosomatic symptoms, loss of well-being and dissatisfaction.

Another study, in this case on the incidence of restructuring in companies and workers' health, prepared by Labor Associates for the Ministry of Employment of Spain and that includes data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), shows that “the crisis has made workers confront with afraid and stress the possibility of losing their jobs ”.

In addition, it is concluded that "there may be more accidents, injuries and even deaths at work due to cuts in personnel."

What can companies do to help survivors?

Experts recommend promoting greater communication, greater employee engagement, and recognition of boiling emotions in the workplace to help survivors reduce or eliminate your symptoms and improve the work environment. "That fear, caused by the lack of communication on the part of the company towards the employee, can end up generating anxiety, anguish, panic attacks and crying episodes ", says psychologist Roger Puigdecanet of the Attention Unit Psychological.

The fact that employees do not feel valued is also a trigger for many psychological problems within the organization. There are several studies that highlight the importance of transformational leadership when it comes to reducing stress, improve self-esteem, job satisfaction and increased productivity. This type of leadership is characterized by a high degree of communication with employees and influence over beliefs and interpretations of the meaning of work that workers have, in a way that increases the wellness.

According Peiro, professor at the University of Valencia, “the authentic transformational leader strives to do what is right and fair for all stakeholders of the organization and can gladly sacrifice their own interests for the collective good of their work team or their organization"

After the crisis, many companies are aware of the effects that this situation can have on the productivity, and increasingly they are striving to hire professionals who specialize in motivating people who survive the downsizing. The director of Advantage Consultants, Sylvia Taudien, comments that “companies ask us for shares of coaching individual or group to re-unite the team, teach how to assimilate change and manage fear ".

In addition, Taudien regrets that "we are finding surprising cases of highly trained and well-paid managers who at times Difficulties do not know how to lead and transmit confidence to their team and instead immerse themselves in their own pain over the situation of the business".

Conclution

If companies are willing to layoffs (especially on a large scale), employees are more than likely to suffer from some effects of survivor syndrome. Anyway, the impact of this syndrome can be reduced if steps are taken to understand it and redirect the possible negative consequences that it may cause on the well-being of workers.

Appropriate communication and a effective leadership style They can lead to improvements in the way workers perceive this situation and, in this way, minimize the consequences on their occupational health. Improving the well-being of workers will also have a positive effect on the health of the organization, that is, it will positively affect its performance in the market.