Are the people who have kept their jobs after a layoff more stressed out than those who were shown the door?  Eben Harrell reported recently in Time Magazine’s online version Time.com that at a conference at the University of Cambridge researchers reported yes-they are.  Compared with people who are straight-up laid off, “those who keep their job but are under a constant threat of losing it suffer a greater decline in mental well-being.”

When you think about it, it makes sense.  If you lose your job, as stressful as it is, you have the opportunity to go through a grieving process, to start anew, and perhaps even find a better, more suitable opportunity.  As stressful as it is financially and emotionally to lose a job, you can focus on health, exercise, family, relationships and self care.   

Not that losing your job is a cakewalk, either, says Carl Schneider, a Cambridge-based career counselor and psychotherapist.  Today’s Boston.com quotes Schneider saying, “It helps people if they can remember that being laid off brings irritability and sleep problems,” he says. Expect to feel hurt, angry, rejected, even depressed. Remind your partner or your roommates you’re not going to be at your best. Cut yourself some slack.

But back to the research on those who remain on the job.  Brendan Burchell, a Cambridge sociologist, suggest that employed people who feel insecure in their job display similar levels of anxiety and depression as those who are unemployed. What’s fascinating is that a newly jobless person’s mental health may “bottom out” after about six months, and then even begin to improve.  However, the mental state of those who still have jobs, but are perpetually worried about losing them, “just continues to deteriorate, getting worse and worse,” Burchell says.

Furthermore, while workers may still be in a ’shock’ period,” after they endure the ongoing threat of being fired — they may begin to suffer severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, such as insomnia, substance abuse and lethargy.  All of this stems from the frustration of not being able to plan for their future or feel in control of their life.

How can leaders communicate with a stressed out workforce?  

• First, accept the issue of stress is real.  This doesn’t mean you need to coddle people - in fact quite the opposite.  You reduce stress by telling them what’s happening
• Communicate this “straight up” information on a regular basis, not just in a crisis meeting, so that people always know where things stand. 
• Remember, it’s not false comfort people are seeking, it’s to know what you know, when you know it.  They want the truth about the situation.  And they want to know how they can help.

If this research is correct, then not knowing is the most stressful part of being employed in uncertain times.  Therefore, as a leader you need to bring some measure of certainty about the facts as you know them today, even if you’re not sure what the future holds.  What I know from experience in working with executives is they tend to go behind closed doors, fret, and stew, and even try to “protect” people by keeping a lid on bad news and imminent risks. 

If employees know more, they can contribute more.  They will arguably be more productive, because they aren’t spending all their time worrying about things that may or may not happen.  Don’t sugar coat the news, but be optimistic about what they can do- in other words, tell them which parts they can control.  No leader has a crystall ball, but you do have a current picture of the business today.  Why not open up and share what is relevant with your employees?

When I started writing Motivate Like a CEO, times were better, and yet even then, our survey found that leaders could do a far better job keeping people in the loop.  Here’s a sample of what they said:

“I need my company’s leadership to communicate to me and my colleagues to provide a context for our work and a purpose for our everyday contributions”

“I feel like I need that high-level, overarching vision to motivate me t6o do my best work and to focus my work toward what helps the company bottom line.”

“Employees are not mind readers.  It’s important that they stay connected to a vision larger than their own to succeed personally and help their company succeed.”

“If employees understand why they are doing certain things and what the ultimate goal is, they will be more enthusiastic and take ownership.”

Employees long to be part of a greater purpose and want their leaders to communicate with them and tell them how they can do so.  What greater purpose exists right now for them than to marshall all of their creativity and energy to helping their own companies survive and thrive?   

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What that statistic doesn’t tell you is how much time you spend writing, editing and crafting each email.  If you’re trying to manage your time more efficiently, one question to ask is - would it take less time to do this by phone?  Or would it be more effective by phone?  It’s not just that email - but the trail of email you are about to create that you must consider, not to mention, the lost opportunity of building a relationship over the telephone.  Go to your data base, look up the number, and dial the phone.  

Let’s imagine that each email message you read takes approximately 1 minute to scan, another 1 minute to consider, and 3 to 5 minutes to write a response.  That’s up to 7 minutes per email - and I haven’t even calculated the ones you are just receiving, reading and deleting.  You can bet that while some email correspondence may take less, many may take more time.  38 emails times 7 minutes is 266 minutes –that’s four and a half hours of email time.  Half your workday.  So the 25% number could be low. 

What are some other tips that will help you to change the email/time equation? 

• Internally, keep your answers friendly but very brief. 
• Let people know that you prefer the telephone for scheduling internal meetings. 
• Tell people not to copy you unless you must be informed or unless you must take action. 
• Include in your own subject lines whether an email requires action. 
• Become a pithy, high content writer. 
• Create scannable email with bullet points, bolds, and underlines so people can quickly review and respond.  Encourage those who work for you to do the same.  Your
• Unsubscribe from all the lists you don’t want to be on - that waste your time. 
• If you have an executive assistant, work out a plan so they can respond to certain people and types of communications. 
• Don’t check the email constantly - batch it at points in the day when you can take a break from the high priority, high concentration tasks you have.

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Motivate Like a CEO was published just as many Wall Street CEOs were being outed for their excesses.  The last few months have been dominated by news of executives taking big bonuses, in spite of of the fact that their companies have lost billions.  They have flown in their private jets to Washington D.C. to beg for government bailouts, and they’ve laid off people who had trusted them to make good decisions. 

I’ve been asked more than once, quite legitimately, ”How relevant is a book on how CEOs motivate people, when many CEOs are hardly acting in the best interest of their companies?” 

Of course, there is an answer and its a good one.  Thousands of CEOs are out there right now, doing the right thing, setting an example, sacrificing everything, and looking out for their people.  

The latest case in point: Paul Levy, who runs Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Levy was wrestling like every CEO with how to cut costs.  He walked around his hospital and saw  technicians, secretaries, administrators, therapists, nurses, the people who are the heart and soul of any hospital.  It looked like keeping all of them with the economy in freefall was going to be impossible.  

As Kevin Cullen reported in the Boston Globe, Paul Levy made a last minute decision based on his gut.  He got up infront of the entire staff and said, “I want to run an idea by you that I think is important, and I’d like to get your reaction to it.”  He went on to explain that he wanted to protect the lower-wage earners - the transporters, the housekeepers, the food service people.  But he explained it would mean the rest of the hospital employees would have to make a bigger sacrifice.   ”It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits.”

Cullen reports Levy had barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Sherman Auditorium erupted in applause. Thunderous, heartfelt, sustained applause.  I’ll let his article take it from here:

“Paul Levy stood there and felt the sheer power of it all rush over him, like a wave. His eyes welled and his throat tightened so much that he didn’t think he could go on.

When the applause subsided, he did go on, telling the workers at Beth Israel, the people who make a hospital go, that he wanted their ideas.

The lump had barely left his throat when Paul Levy started getting e-mails.

The consensus was that the workers don’t want anyone to get laid off and are willing to give up pay and benefits to make sure no one does. A nurse said her floor voted unanimously to forgo a 3 percent raise. A guy in finance who got laid off from his last job at a hospital in Rhode Island suggested working one less day a week. Another nurse said she was willing to give up some vacation and sick time. A respiratory therapist suggested eliminating bonuses.”

Levy reports he was getting about a hundred messages per hour. That’s what happens when you do the right thing.  People recognize it for what it is - genuine concern about the people who make the place run. 

I’m not suggesting that many companies didn’t have to make layoffs, or that downsizing for some was not a good decision. No CEO can ignore the economic realities that confront us.  Every CEO has to make the tough calls.  But what was extraordinary here is that everyone was willing to make some sacrifices, when presented the option by a CEO who not only cares, but is looking for creative solutions that won’t damage the fabric of the organization.

How motivated do you think those employees who might have lost their jobs will be now?  They aren’t just grateful to Paul Levy, they’re grateful to their colleagues who are making sacrifices too.  The lesson on motivation is when you set something in motion, and people know its right, they’ll get behind you 1,000 percent.

Click here to read the full test of Kevin Cullen’s article about Paul Levy on Boston.com

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According to Salary.com, the average American worker wastes over two hours each day.  Don’t ask me how they know.  They surveyed American workers.  Why anyone would admit this in a survey - is beyond me.    

But I digress.  The question is - why are they wasting time –at a time like this?  What are they doing when they are not working? Let’s start with what they’re doing.  The biggest culprit: the internet.  Almost 45% of Americans rank surfing the web as their primary time-wasting activity. The second big time waster: standing around talking with co-workers -almost 35% admit to that.  I don’t know whether that counts email and text messaging.

While it’s a little bit funny, and let’s face it -we’ve all  wasted time at work, if you’re the leader of the organization you probably find this very scary.  Stop to consider what it is costing your company –the calculation in lost opportunity, wasted person hours, delayed projects, could consume you.  

Right now you need to have100% of your team focused on the highest priority projects and activities that will keep your business moving forward to the other side of this dismal economic downturn.  What can you do?  It’s instructive first to look at WHY people say they are wasting time–the reasons for slacking off.  Then we can look at what to do.

 One third of American workers s say they don’t have enough work to do.  About a quarter say they feel underpaid.

For those who don’t feel they have enough work right now - well that’s easy.  They need to be enaged.  As the leader, you need to show them how they can make a difference.  There are always things people can do that will move the needle even when they’re aren’t doing their regular jobs.

As a leader, you need to communicate in a way that inspires and engages people.   You may feel a little down yourself right now.  But this is your job.  You have to raise your own energy level and communicate this energy to others.  I wouldn’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of thinking that most people are people are ”difficult to motivate.”  While you can’t really motivate anyone, you can inspire people to get in touch with their own motivation.

As for those who aren’t working because they believe they are underpaid.  They shouldn’t be there anyway.  I just read another survey in the Wall Street Journal that found job satisfaction is actually up.  A December 2008 survey by Yahoo! Hot Jobs found 38% of respondents are “very satisfied with their jobs, compared to 28% in 2007.  This is no doubt because they are grateful to have jobs right now.  But it’s also because, in my experience most people want to do a great job, and be recognized and rewarded for it, not just with money, but with praise.  People work for a paycheck but also long for a purpose.  

How do you do go about inspiring others?  Think about what motivates them.  Talk about that.  Have a conversation about what they’re doing, give them a pat on the back, and tell them how important their work really is.     

Focus them on a common goal. During times of crisis, it is actually easier than ever to rally people around purpose.  We’re all in it together!  Whether that goal is to seize market share -an opportunity brought on by the turmoil, or whether your company is just in survival mode, staying alive, everybody knows it.  Get them to focus on what they can do about that.  Get them on the same page, fighting for the same thing.  It’s either  a clear, present danger right now, or a clear, present opportunity.  

You have to communicate it so they can hear it, again and again, until they act on it.  It is your job as a leader to communicate so everyone understands. Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a motivating, inspiring leader.  But anyone can be that person. Where to start?   Get in touch with your own passion - why do you believe in what you’re doing? Why is it important is it to you?  When you’re in touch with your own passion, it will come through in they way you speak with others.  

Note: You cannot over-communicate in a crisis.  You have to be out front, speaking about it, all the time, delivering a message that is clear, consistent and credible.  Communicate through every channel.  And don’t make it all one way communication.  Walk around and listen to people.  Ask questions.  Find out what is holding them back. Observe and learn.  If they are not productive, if they’re not spending time on the right things, find out what can you do to help them, and let them know how vital they are to your business plan and recovery. 

One thing I discovered while writing Motivate Like a CEO, (McGraw Hill 2005) is that we all long to have a purpose.  We want our lives, and our work, to matter.  We want to make a difference in the world.  If you believe this then you can always motivate people to give their best because you appeal to their best intentions.  That will help them be highly productive every day.

If you suspect people are wasting time– here are eight tips that will help you get people engaged:

1.  Walk around and talk to people - ask how they are doing, and how you can help them get things done

2.  Be clear about the priorities - they can change during times of crisis - keep everyone up to date

3.  Praise people, reward productivity, and let them know how much particular activities mean to the organization - be specific 

4.  Stay in touch through email and other channels and drive that message home - so no one can say they didn’t know

5. Be positive - communicate success stories, tell them about opportunities ahead, use motivational quotes, and an upbeat tone

6. Stay motivated yourself- get out of the office, get fresh air and a fresh perspective so you can give to others

7.  Walk the talk; be productive, use your own time wisely and set a great example

8.  Remember your words count - a single conversation with someone can change their behavior for the better

I want to share one final thought.  I once asked one of my wonderful mentors, a successful business woman, how she decided every day what she should do.  Her answer was simple.  “I look through the pile, decide what can make me money, and put that on top.”  Perhaps you can pass that story along. 

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