Managing Employees During Tough Economic Times

Tips for Keeping Worker Morale and Productivity High in a Recession

Aug 13, 2009

Layoffs, furloughs and paycuts negatively affect the workplace. Managers can boost worker morale and productivity during tough economic times using these strategies.

Managing a group of employees during good economic times can have its ups and downs. But what about supervising a group of workers during layoffs, downsizing, and furloughs? The negative effect on worker morale and productivity can be overwhelming. The following toolbox can help managers stay positive and keep employees motivated.

Honest and Frequent Communication

Keep employees notified of global economic impacts for the organization. Set regular meetings with employees to answer questions and keep everyone informed.

Dena Uding of the California Department of Water Resources says open communication is key. When potentially bad news is about to break, Dena says sharing the known and unknown facts with staff first helps keep rumors from spreading. Being honest with employees also means not being afraid to say the answer is not yet known.

Recognize Signs of Stress

Good managers regularly look for signs of stress in employees. First-level supervisors have the best read on whether an employee is undergoing stress and make sure to communicate each day about non-work topics, to assess employee stress level. Look for these early warning signs of stress at work, published by the Mental Health Care Consumer Connection:

Plan Work Tasks Ahead to Reduce Stress

Employees who have had a pay cut or who are nervously awaiting bad news about the economy will already be under more stress than usual. Employees who are working on a furlough schedule will not have as many days to complete tasks. Productivity and morale can suffer. As a supervisor, help by planning work tasks ahead and sharing long-term milestones and weekly due dates with employees.

Distributing Workload Effectively

Managers distribute workload on a daily basis, and delegating tasks becomes routine. Some employees have more difficulty multitasking under stress than others. Have employees develop and suggest strategies for tackling large tasks. Encourage overwhelmed employees to break large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks, or share responsibilities with other co-workers.

Managing employees during difficult economic times is very challenging. Recognizing stress in employees can be more of an art than a science. Feeling out of control about the economy leaves workers with low morale and productivity can suffer. Communicate honestly and frequently, learn to recognize the signs of stress, and plan and distribute workload in advance of major deadlines. Remind employees to use assistance programs to access free financial and emotional counseling.

Additional Resources

The copyright of the article Managing Employees During Tough Economic Times in Human Resources Management is owned by Jule Rizzardo. Permission to republish Managing Employees During Tough Economic Times in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.