Layoffs

They expect a "short and shallow" downturn.

It never hurts to be prepared for the worst. Especially when it comes to losing your job.

Treat your people as trusted partners.

Research on downsizing, gender, and race.

What’s foremost in people’s minds these days? Whether or not they’ll be laid off. What’s foremost in the minds of a growing number of managers? How do you lay people off? As the exasperated protagonist says in the current Harvard Business Review Case Study, “Why aren’t layoffs taught as a subject at business school?” Download […]

Carol Hymowitz interviewed me for a recent Wall Street Journal column, titled “Though Now Routine, Bosses Still Stumble During the Layoff Process.” The interview sparked my curiosity, and I went back and read research on “downsizing,” a topic I’ve been interested in since I did my dissertation research on the process of organizational death in […]

When you strip away the fancy jargon, a successful business fundamentally makes more money than it spends. While managers can pull any number of levers to accomplish this, the one they most often choose reads: “Reduce Costs!” And perhaps the most common way they cut costs is to eliminate jobs. This is why we are […]

Committed and motivated employees serve customers better; customers happy with your company's products or services are likely to express their satisfaction,...

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Here’s a brief update on some research we’ve been doing on layoff practices. For a decade we tracked who was likely to be fired in Europe during an economic downturn. Surprisingly, it was not generally the least productive managers. Over 40% of European managers said they would layoff an older manager even if that manager […]

New research suggests you can predict who'll be on it.

Five steps to maintain your connections and reputation.

I concluded last week by noting that, sometimes, layoffs are unavoidable. Here’s what Jeff Pfeffer and I found were the four guidelines to making them run in as humane a manner as possible. 1. Prediction: Give people as much information as you can about what will happen — to them as individuals, to their workgroups, […]

Gender norms make unemployment an unequal burden among heterosexual couples in the U.S.

Waiting for bad news can take a major psychological toll.

Editor’s Note: The following article was written by Anthony Nyberg and Charlie Trevor, based on their research and also drawing on the research of others including Teresa M. Amabile of Harvard, Regina Conti of Colgate, and Wayne F. Cascio of the University of Colorado. The article, to appear in June’s issue of HBR, builds on […]

Especially if you have to deliver the news remotely.

A factory manager considers whether to accept or resist union demands.

Shift your focus from weaknesses to strengths.

With practice, you can deliver difficult news effectively and compassionately.