Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations

2.6. Learnings and Implications

We are experiencing four dimensions of a basic shift in the relationship between people and organizations. Insights into this paradigm shift are found in organizational assumptions about the purpose of people (from assets to be grown and nurtured to costs to be cut), the symbolism of organizational language (from nurturing to violent), organizational time horizons (from long-term career development to short-term job fit and short-term profit orientation), and organizational preferences (from building up to taking apart). The legacy of these profound changes is often an embittered work-force and reduced productivity at a time when organizations most need an optimistic workforce and high productivity.

This is a ...