Surplus to requirement: why redundancy can feel more painful than a necessary business decision.

I first learned about the impact of redundancy when I was 19 years old at university. I’d had an email from my dad saying he’d been busy at work with a link to a BBC news article where the factory that he was the Site Director of announced the loss of 130 jobs. Studying health geographies at the time I had a good understanding about the patenting of drugs and also cheaper drug manufacturing opportunities overseas: it made business sense. I’m pretty sure my dad sat in all of those redundancy meetings and know it was a very stressful time. I wish I'd asked more questions at the time, but as a family we didn't talk about difficult things - it's just the way we were.

Fast-forward 15 years and I’m sat in my own consultancy meeting. It wasn’t redundancy consultation (though I’d had one of those 18 months prior) as my firm were doing voluntary severance packages and so legally they did not need to have a 30 day consultation period and level playing field. I’d been handpicked to leave and had 7 days to decide whether to stay or go while not being able to speak with anyone about what was happening. It was unpleasant, isolating and lacked due care.

Once again, I could see the justification behind the layoffs; the business wasn’t doing as well as they had hoped, partners wanted more money (according to an FT article) and it seemed the easy option to pay off staff who were surplus to requirements. And that’s the bit that hurts the individual, that’s what makes redundancy messy. You’re telling people:

“You no longer have any value to us. You’re surplus to requirement.”

The psychological impact of redundancy

If you google “redundant” the Oxford definition comes up as:

“not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.”

Imagine then being sat in a meeting with someone from HR and someone of significant seniority saying to you the business equivalent of “you are not useful to us, you have nothing to offer us”. It is cold, hard and has a distinct lack of empathy or concern for the employee (other than they obviously state to contact the EAP following the meeting). The impact to self-esteem even of someone with a good state of mental wellbeing is likely to be large and here’s why.

If we think about this impact with our understanding of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we can see the direct impact of loss of employment on self-esteem. In a redundancy situation there is a risk that immediately impacts some of our basic physiological needs: food, shelter and rest along with our need for safety and security. Those going through a redundancy situation can feel like the metaphorical rug is being pulled from underneath them: without these basic needs as a foundation we cannot progress up the hierarchy towards self esteem or self-actualisation. Any redundancy process, whether voluntary or statutory can therefore be seen as somewhat destabilising to an individual regardless of any other personal situations that might also play a part. This loss of self-esteem can then impact confidence in interview processes for new roles and the person impacted by redundancy can end up in a further battle with self-esteem; a vicious cycle.

 Rejection

To fully understand the impact of redundancy to an individual we must remember just that. We are working with individuals, each with their own tapestry of experiences that make them who they are. In business there has historically been no time for emotions and only in recent times has workplace wellbeing come to the fore. Redundancy is a form or rejection and unfortunately rejection is something that few are immune to. It can come in simple forms such as not being picked for a sports team through to more complex; a divorce, bullying or a parent walking out. In situations such as redundancy, deep rooted feelings of rejection can quickly surface meaning that our ability to cope with the redundancy can be even more challenging.

For me this surfaced a lot of questions that because of the swift nature of my severance remained unanswered. “Was I not good enough?” “How did you decide who to speak to?” “Who knew about this?” “What if I could just show you how good I can be?”. Even 6 months down the line, I’m still holding onto the rejection my severance gave me because it re-triggered emotions from similar feelings I had from my dad walking away from the family and building a new one a decade earlier. Being faced with further rejection seemed to re-open the wound, and is something I’m still working through in my own therapy sessions.

What about those who stay?

The immediate reaction to not being made redundant is the relief in still having a job. However, after the dust settles “survivors” of redundancies can often face challenges of their own. They may now need to pick up additional tasks or a change in role from restructure. They could have a new manager or have to pick up new management responsibilities. All of which upsets the status quo and can have an impact on both individuals and teams.

On top of this, the general vibes will have shifted post-redundancies. Teams may have lost colleagues who were important to morale. Individuals may be scared they roles may become “at risk” in the future, more people may leave as a result of having gone through a redundancy process. Tensions in teams may grow and there may be a general feeling of discontent. Leaders lack training or coaching on how to manage teams post-redundancies and it's unlikely companies have the budget to provide such training given the redundancies.

 How you can support yourself through a redundancy?

Prioritise yourself and your emotional wellbeing. If outplacement support has been provided, utilise it – whether that be to work on your CV or practice interviews through to coaching and more holistic offerings. Usually this is for a set period of typically 3 months; after which consider whether investing in similar service offerings might be worthwhile.

Keep a routine. It can be easy to treat not working like being on holiday, but keeping a set routine around your day can help to keep individuals motivated during unemployment and job hunting. Spend time during your days on things you enjoy, learn a new skill or enjoy time with your friends and family.

Talk to someone. A therapist, a coach, a friend. Unfortunately redundancy is common but that means there’s a lot of people with experience of it who may be willing to lend a listening ear. Be mindful about engaging with ex-colleagues, as while there may be friendships there, hearing about your former workplace may be difficult.

How you can support employees through a redundancy?

Be a leader. Don’t shy away from conversations with those both exiting and remaining in the business. It means so much more to employees to hear that leaders are finding lay-offs hard to deal with and showing some vulnerability can help to foster stronger relationships among both leavers and survivors.

Be kind. If you enjoyed working with someone, tell them. You could be reminding them of their value and worth and that the redundancy says more about the state of the business than about them as an individual. Check in with them, if they a happy to remain in touch. Celebrate any successes such as new roles or learning new skills.

Support their next career move. Do you have connections with opportunities you could share? Can you provide a personal reference for new roles? Can you help to review their CV and remind them of their strengths?

Conclusion

Redundancy sucks, and not just for those being made redundant. However, as humans we have the ability to manage redundancies with empathy and warmth to help to support individuals into the next phase of their career. As a coach, I work with individuals on a one to one basis and can support those either facing redundancy themselves or managing redundancy within their business. Coaching takes you from where you are now, to where you want to be through setting clear goals, creating clear actions and keeping you accountable. Unfortunately, I’ve been there but through having a coach of my own have been able to make changes in my life and career for the better and I’d love to help you to do the same.

If you’re currently stuck following a redundancy or wanting to improve team dynamics following a redundancy process please email me at hello@katherineholdstockcoaching.co.uk to find out more.