Survivor Syndrome: Working In Times Of Crisis Can Harm Your Health
For almost a year, Susana Rosales, an administrator in a factory in Barcelona, 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 friend’s farewell I thought it would be next I felt lucky to continue working in the company, but it was really stressful to think that any day it could be my turn. This situation affected me on a daily basis and caused me anxiety and insomnia,” says Rosales.
As in the case of Susana, the interruption of normality in work life due to the “downsizing ” (staff reduction) 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, studied for the first time by Noah is known as the “survivor syndrome ”. It is characterized by high levels of anxiety and stress (or burnout), lack of motivation and emotional 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 employee well-being, 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 maintain their jobs increase the probability of suffering from cardiovascular diseases by 5 times.” The causes? Increased stress, excessive workload and continued job insecurity.
Stress and burnout and its relationship with workers’ health
As we already mentioned in the article “Burnout: how to detect it and take action,” stress and job satisfaction have become an important factor in recent decades in the work context. Psychosocial risks and burnout are among the most difficult problems in the field of safety and health at work, since they significantly affect people and organizations.
For the worker, it causes consequences on 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, desperation towards work, a greater demotivation or an increase in the desire to leave employment 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 immune to the economic crisis in which the European Union is immersed, and therefore layoffs are becoming common within companies. The labor survivor in time of crisis endures the added pressure of often having to work longer hours to complete the tasks of colleagues who are no longer here. This added pressure and the fear of being fired at any moment 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 US provides scientific evidence that relates the number of workers with the discomfort at work This study highlights the close association between a deficient provision of human resources and the consequent appearance of stress, burnoutpsychosomatic symptoms, loss of well-being and dissatisfaction.
Another study, in this case on the impact of restructuring on companies and on workers’ health, prepared by Labor Associates for the Ministry of Employment of Spain and which includes data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), shows that “the crisis has made workers face with fear and stress the possibility of losing their jobs.”
Furthermore, it is concluded that “more accidents, injuries and even deaths may occur at work due to personnel cuts.”
What can companies do to help survivors?
Experts recommend promoting greater communication, greater employee involvement, and recognition of boiling emotions in the workplace to help survivors reduce or eliminate their symptoms and improve the work environment “This 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 Psychological Care Unit.
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, improving self-esteem, job satisfaction and increasing productivity. This type of leadership is characterized by a high degree of communication with employees and the influence on workers’ beliefs and interpretations of the meaning of work, in a way that increases well-being.
According to Peiró, professor at the University of Valencia, “the authentic transformational leader strives to do what is right and fair for all stakeholders in the organization and can gladly sacrifice his own interests for the collective good of his work team. or your organization
After the crisis, many companies are aware of the effects that this situation can generate on the productivity , and they are increasingly making efforts to hire professionals who specialize in motivating people who survive re-employment. The director of Advantage ConsultantsSylvia Taudien, comments that “companies ask us for individual or group coaching actions to re-unite the team, teach how to assimilate change and manage fear.”
Furthermore, Taudien regrets that “we are encountering surprising cases of highly trained and well-paid managers who in difficult times do not know how to lead and transmit confidence to their team and instead immerse themselves in their own pain due to the company’s situation.” .
Conclusion
If companies are willing to make layoffs (especially on a large scale), employees will more than likely suffer some effects of survivor syndrome. Anyway, The impact of this syndrome can be reduced if measures are taken to understand it and redirect the possible negative consequences that it may cause on the well-being of workers.
Appropriate communication and an effective leadership style 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.
