A new Eurofound report on restructuring in the EU, presents some interesting statistics on restructuring, and the resulting impact on the organisation following a restructure. The report focuses specifically on which employees lost their job at the beginning of the economic downturn in 2008, which of them found a new job and the implications of this for their life satisfaction, and what effects restructuring have on people who remain in their jobs. Interestingly the report also found that having long tenure protects against job loss, but long-tenured workers who lose their job are less likely to find a new one.
According to the report, the 'stayers' - those who remain in jobs are most likely to be in higher occupational groups and working in larger establishments, as well as employees working in traditionally state-funded sectors. In addition, the research reveals that restructured workplaces are more likely to offer higher levels of employee autonomy, more access to training, a higher incidence of teamwork, and employees having greater influence and involvement in how work is organised - the hallmarks of high performance work systems.
When looking at the report from an irish perspective, we can see that Ireland was (as we all now know) one of the worst affected of all the EU member states. over 20% of workers suffered displacement during this period, and the report concluded that displacement was three times as likely for unskilled workers that for professionals and workers with more than four years experience. Industry wide it will be of no surprise that Manufacturing and Construction saw the biggest decreases across Europe, with Ireland's Construction industry suffering heavily, decreasing by 60% in Ireland.
The re employment rate amongst those displaced varied between states with the average at 26%, and the report categorically stated that from a life satisfaction standpoint, those who were able to return to employment were significantly better off. According tot he research those who had previously had a long tenure in a role and were displaced found it significantly more difficult to find re-employment.
Those who remain in the organisation following a restructure also stated that there were consequences to this , as habitual work arrangements are revised, new objectives and targets are introduced and their network of colleagues can be broken up. However as mentioned above the hallmarks of a high performance work system are more prevalent in restructured workplaces. There were however some negative health impacts for restructuring with higher levels of stress and presenteeism int he workplace. Presenteeism is where a person comes to work even though they are sick for fear of the consequences. From a HR standpoint these employees also reported a higher exposure to Bullying and Harassment in the workplace.
The report also breaks down the largest job losses cases in 2011 - 2012 with Greece and Germany suffering heavily. Interestingly Ireland actually mentioned in the largest recent job gains with Subway committing to open 600 new branches across the UK and Ireland over the next three years, with jobs targeted at younger people and those currently unemployed.
The report provides a very useful insight into the economic downturn and the resulting impact it would have on a workplace and remaining staff.
