Layoffs, quitting, firing: How workplace departures impact those left behind
Layoffs increase the likelihood that workers – particularly the good ones – will quit their jobs, according to new research out of the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Sima Sajjadiani, an assistant professor at the Sauder School of Business, says the study is a first-of-its-kind look at the ripple effects of layoffs, resignations, and terminations-for-cause. In particular, it looks at who decides to leave an organization and why in the wake of their colleagues' departures.
"Layoffs are the worst," she said.
The effect of layoffs, Sajjadiani says, is "strong and immediate" particularly among "high performers" who are defined as people who not only do a good job but who also contribute positively to workplace culture.
"We theorize that it is happening because they feel a sense of urgency," Sajjadiani says, adding that the impression they are left of their workplace is that it is unstable and lacks loyalty.
"We see a huge increase in voluntary turnover of high performers because they cannot trust the organization. High performers are the first to go."
Sajjadiani says that particularly when other "high performers" are laid off, there is a violation of what she calls the "psychological contract" between an employer and its workers. The expectation, she explains, is that hard work and solid job performance will be rewarded. Witnessing layoffs undermines their expectation that their contributions will shield them from staffing cuts.
"It is important when organizations make these types of decisions to understand that losing human capital will not end with layoffs. There will be some subsequent voluntary turnover, things that they have not planned for," she explains.
"This is something we don't see organizations taking into account," she continues, adding that "low performers" are less likely to leave of their own accord when they see their colleagues laid off.
The research also looked at workplace fallout after high performers decide to leave their jobs. As with layoffs, this also leads to the departure of other high-performing employees, albeit at a lower rate. The signal it sends, Sajjadiani says, is that there are other, potentially better, opportunities elsewhere. In addition, high-performers tend to gravitate toward one another and departures have the impact of destabilizing those workplace networks which can decrease people's job satisfaction.
Although voluntary quitting is not something employers can straightforwardly control, its consequences can be significant.
"Organizations, I think, should think carefully about their reasons why their employees may decide to voluntarily quit and try to prevent that and be proactive about these cases and make sure that, especially their high performers, are happy. Because they can take many more high performers with them," Sajjadiani says.
On the other hand, when high performers quit, their lower-performing counterparts are relatively unaffected.
"It's almost twice as bad because people that the organization wants to leave are staying and those that they don't want to leave are leaving," she says.
Workers being fired, the research found, had the least impact on remaining employees. Those who are dismissed, Sajjadiani said, were perhaps unsurprisingly often those classified to be low performers. That label can encompass anything from someone who is not carrying their weight to someone who is disruptive, abusive or toxic.
"After this decision is made, there is a decrease in subsequent quit rate," she said.
Those likely to quit after someone is fired for cause tend to be other low-performers, which Sajjadiani says is in part due to the perception that there are significant consequences for bad behaviour or poor performance.
Overall, Sajjadiani says, the research shows the consequences of workers leaving – voluntarily or otherwise – are being "vastly underestimated" by executives, managers, and others who make staffing decisions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.