We are always going through change – it’s inherent in our business and our industry. However, the changes involved in layoffs can be particularly tough on who are not getting layed off.

Even if no one in your group loses their job, you may feel impacted emotionally because you may know someone that is involved in a layoff, or you may start to wonder about what the future will bring. It’s to be expected.

“Survivor Syndrome”

Researchers in the field of organization development coined this term Survivor Syndrome.

What is it? Its a set of attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that typically occur in people that continue to have roles in an organization while others are let go due to economic or changing business needs.

In times of layoffs, organizations typically work very hard to treat released employees with respect and support as they leave the organization. This is about how to help yourself and others who stay on, deal with common feelings and stay focused on business commitments.

For a survivor, the typical attitudes are : cynical, uncaring, emotionally exhausted, detached. And the typical feelings are are anger, depression, fear, distrust, guilt, violation, de-valued.

This results in behaviors that look like

Decreased productivity
Lack of commitment
Disloyal behavior/talk
Distrustful of management
Risk aversion
Absenteeism
Self-absorption
Less team focused
Focus on job instability
Every person is different, so everyone may or may not exhibit these common attitudes, feelings, and behaviors - but the do in varying degrees.

What should you do?

• Educate yourself: Learn the basics about what people can experience when they have colleagues laid off.
• Talk about your situation and feelings with your manager or other trusted people. (Research indicates that even a short face-to-face conversation with someone you like and trust can contribute to feeling balanced and ready to tackle challenges.)
• Talk with your manager about some of the information you need
• Get as clear an understanding as possible of the purpose or business reasons for the changes;
• Get as clear a picture as possible of the future that is aimed for and what needs to change in your key performance areas;
• Find out what the current plan is to tackle business commitments and adjust how you will achieve them; and
• Determine the part you can play as a leader and teammate through this tough emotional process.
• Lastly use this to learn more about keeping yourself tuned up for optimal performance, “Managing Your Energy Not Your Time.”http://www.engageforsuccess.org/ideas-tools/harvard-business-review-manage-energy-time/#.U8iQto2Sw_Y

Good luck!

Indra Nooyi, the Pepsi CEO's interview in The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/why-pepsico-ceo-indra-k-nooyi-cant-have-it-all/373750/   on  why women cant have it all  has created waves.  It always helps to have a  role model, make full admission of the fact that there are severe challenges, guilt trips and the need to have a huge support system to build a strong career. Women across the world are overjoyed. It resonates - and we feel like we no longer need to feel apologetic about our trials and tribulations.

What resonated the most with was her description of  the corporate clock and the biological clock and how they just do  not synchronise.

But guess what, men can't have it all either. In my work on Women leadership in Asia, I work with the male leaders as well, because they usually the people who are the managers to the women leaders we are trying to groom. And, I  see such an amazing trend when I talk to these senior executives. Most of them have spent over 25 years in the workforce and have had stellar careers.
- they are inevitably regretful of how much they have given to their careers and how little time  they have spent with their families - either their children's development , spouses careers or in  elder care.
- they wonder if "leaning out" is ever an option - because of the immense pressure of being the sole bread winner
- they believe that they've lived an uni-dimensional world, and now that the years have passed them by they wonder if they can have another life outside of work
- and finally they internally crave for similar "flexibility, holistic life and purpose" as their women counterparts

So, corporations please rise!  Rise to the fact that the structured linear career progression is soon going to be  a thing of the past. Families , work- life and motivations are rapidly changing - lets also listen to the men and if they want something different.

Dear Selvaraj,
cc Tony fernandes


On 2nd July 2014, I was taking an Air Asia flight AK 700 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, for a day trip on business. As I reached the airport at about 630 am, I was met with Mohammed Shairul  at the check in counter who took about 3 minutes to check me in. As he handed me my boarding pass, I realised that I had left my Iphone in the taxi that had just dropped me off. What a disaster!
I asked Shairul if I could borrow his phone to call the taxi company.

The minutes that followed were nothing short of a class act.

Shairul stood up from behind his desk, and asked me for my taxi receipt, dialled the number on his phone and started logging a complaint. While he was on the phone, I asked him if we could call my phone as well and see if we could find the taxi driver. So, while on the call with the taxi company he walked across to his colleague at the other check in counter, picked up her phone, asked me for my phone number and dialled it himself. The taxi driver picked up my phone on the other end. Shairul asked  him for his  location and to come back to return my phone. Apparently the cabbie had a flat tyre and said he could not drive back to drop the phone off. I heard Shairul plead  with him for a while (all this while he was simultaneously talking on the other phone to SMRT- the taxi company) and then understood that the cabbie was at the taxi queue in Arrivals (one floor below, across a large airport). He hung up the phone, looked up at me and asked me to wait right there (he also looked at the clock, realised that I have about 20 minutes to board) and he sprinted to go retrieve my phone. As promised, he was back within 7-8 minutes with my phone, handed it to me, informed me that he has let SMRT know that the phone was found –and  wished me safe travels!

As a leadership consultant I spend many hours in the day coaching and building teams with senior clients on executive presence and dealing with ambiguity. But it was a delight to see this behaviour first hand and handled so beautifully. What really stood out for me was that

• Shairul did not have to be asked on what to do
  
  
• He took complete charge of the situation from the word go
  
  
• He was so sensitive to the fact that I didn’t have much time on hand and that my phone was critical to me
  
  
• And he dealt with it in such a pleasant manner that left me nothing but stunned
  
  

In short, it was a WOW – and a brilliant moment of truth

Kudos to you , your team and Air Asia. Mohammed Shairul saved me a huge business deal that day and for that I will be always grateful.

Good luck Air Asia and hope you continue to soar!

Kalpana Sinha
Co Founder and CEO
Cosmode Consultants
www.cosmodeconsultants.com