Today’s “do more with less” world, whether the result of reorganizing, merging, downsizing or my favorite – FRIGHTSIZING – surely poses a myriad of challenges for professionals and companies in the meeting planning industry. And based on extensive training and consulting experience with an array of profit and non-profit organizations grappling with a variety of major change processes, two reorg challenges and actions quickly come to mind:

a) coping– managing psychologically the stress and uncertainty generated by possible or actual job loss or restructuring for individuals, teams and the organization as a whole and

b) planning – anticipating organizational change and generating steps for post-reorg system rejuvenation while also redeveloping a job-career-life path design whether remaining inside or moving outside his or her present company or organization.

In order to examine more specifically these “coping” and “planning” dynamics let me differentiate three organization-job status categories during times of major change:

a) organizational uncertainty – the possibility of reorganization and cutbacks are seeding anxiety and clouding the workplace atmosphere,

b) job loss – cutbacks have occurred and you were let go or upon seeing the downsized or diminished handwriting on the horizon, you have jumped ship and

c) reorg survival – you still have your position but individuals, teams and the entire organization are still reeling, wheeling and dealing with the restructuring aftershocks.

Examining these two dimensions – “Stress/Change Management Actions” (“Coping” and “Planning”) and “Organization-Job Status” – yields a 2x3 matrix. Here is the matrix along with two action strategies in each box, followed by an explanation and illustration of each strategy.

Psychological, Career and Organizational Strategies for Managing Uncertainty, Job Loss and Change

Organization-Job Status

	Org. Uncertainty	Job Loss	Reorg Survival
Coping	a) Stay Committed and in Control b) Start Exploring/Networking	a) Grief Process b) Six “F’s” of Loss and Change	a) Four “R”s of Recovery/Prevention b) Group Grieving and Bonding
Planning	a) Jumpstarting Dreams b) Upgrading Skills	a) Self-Inventory and Investment b) Counseling andCareer Support	a) Team Building b) OrganizationalIRAs

A. Organizational Uncertainty (OU)

1. OU Coping a. Stay Committed and in Control. During AT&T's revolutionary breakup, researchers studied how company executives were physically and emotionally coping with the turbulent transition. One factor that reduced mind-body stress symptoms and that contributed to better physical health, that is, “psychological hardiness,” was staying focused on work goals and objectives. These execs did not become resigned (at least not for long) nor did they become slackers. They were also committed to a life, not just a work life. They had support of colleagues, family and/or friends, found sustenance in religious or spiritual practice and were rejuvenated by hobbies. Do you have a hobby in which you can temporarily, maybe even passionately, lose yourself?

The hardiest executives also had a realistic and non-rigid sense of control. In response to this organizational quake, these men and women processed an array of emotions thereby realizing more quickly that the corporate territory would never be the same. Whether likely remaining with the company or moving on, by modifying expectations or by letting go of prior assumptions, these execs achieved more objective assessments. And their new perspective became a potent tool in decision-making. No matter the course of change, they never felt totally bereft or completely at a loss (of control).

b. Start Exploring and Networking. The second coping strategy somewhat contradicts the notion of staying committed: upgrade the resume, attend professional networking meetings and seek informational interviews, especially networking with a twist. When that sense of control seems “slipsliding away,” people, understandably often turn to their home base industry supports. Also, what about networking “outside the box?” For heightened visibility try association meetings with groups not part of your familiar or obvious sphere of professional activity. Try informational interviews with colleagues in the professional margins. Not only will these steps help channel fear and frustration, but such exploration will also open your mindscape to new horizons, resources and problem-solving possibilities.

So coping effectively with organizational uncertainty or ambiguity often depends on a capacity for staying committed to quality work despite: 1) an anxious work climate and 2) the need to evolve an exploratory mode that may take you outside your company. For inspiration, consider this F. Scott Fitzgerald observation:

The test of a first rate intellect is the capacity to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

While often a source of tension, thinking through and integrating opposition tends to create a type of conflict that opens your “mind’s eye.” This tension compels you to push the traditional boundaries. You are now generating a “big picture” or novel perspective that often resolves the seeming contradiction, confusion or paralysis. You are no longer just in coping mode. Frequently, a powerful new idea is a catalyst for productive risk-taking. You may well be laying the foundation for planning and designing a job or career makeover.

2. OU Planning.
a. Jumpstarting Dreams. In the early ‘90s the US Postal Service went through a reorganization /RIF (Reduction In Force) process that for many months had all levels of personnel feeling vulnerable and in limbo: Would you still have a job? Even if you were kept on, would you need to move to a less desirable part of the country to secure a position? Would there by any senior buyouts? Having a ringside seat for this transitional drama (and sometimes trauma), I discerned two categories of employees who seemed to best weather the storm – Jump Starters and Upgraders.

First the Jump Starters. In the face of restructuring and organizational uncertainty, these employees started investigating the possibility of full or part-time self-employment. I recall one gentleman saying how for years he had fantasized starting his own seafood business, but it remained a fantasy. The tenuous situation at USPS was just the kick in the butt he needed to get more serious about pursuing his dream. He could no longer count on his federal paycheck always being there. While not ready to walk away from the Postal Service, he was planning for a new and/or expanded career path.

b. Upgrading Skills. The postal Upgraders were employees committed to the USPS and, if at all possible, were staying on ship. These folks also recognized needing to take training classes to increase skills and their marketability within the organization. And recognizing the urgency, some employees were even willing to go outside the USPS for the desired training.

The common thread for both planning types was being pro-active. These individuals were not simply waiting for Headquarters to send a representative down from the L’Enfant Plaza mountaintop with those transitional tablets that would clear the clouds and provide an enlightened career pathway. Realistic risk and responsibility were now the reorganizational passwords.

B. Job Loss (JL)

1. JL Coping
a. Grief Process. The loss of a job or position, especially one in which we’ve invested time and training, energy and ego, is obviously painful. While financial fears may arise, it’s often the loss of identity that’s most disorienting. Without my job, without my day-to-day proving ground – to demonstrate my talents, to achieve my successes – who am I? And where will I go from here? In the US Postal Service RIF, I recall the lament of a woman on a management trainee fast track: “I once had a career path, then this boulder fell from the sky and crushed it!” Do you think she’s feeling disoriented, betrayed and abandoned, maybe even enraged?

Clearly this woman needs to grieve. For example, sometimes we need to experience some rage to help us overcome a feeling of being paralyzed. Of course, we need to grapple with our sadness and loss to temper the rage. (Remember, a lot more people shoot themselves in the foot than go “postal.”) This ebb and flow eventually helps us break out of our own ambivalence into a state of focused anger: “I don’t like what’s going on…but how do I make the best of this situation – for the short-term and then beyond?” This honest emotional eruption, expression and reflection may lay the groundwork for exploration and liberation.

b. “Six ‘F’s for Managing Loss and Change”. When dealing with major loss, before you can truly plan, often you need to grieve. And to maximize growth through grief – to nurture “Good Grief” – consider this six-step coping process.

1. You must loosen your hold on traditional structure and security; that is, you must let go of the familiar
2. You must confront anxieties and doubts generated by an uncertain future
3. You must grapple with some loss of self-esteem, that is, some loss of face
4. You must wade through the “Big Muddy” and “Big Moody” to forge anew a purposeful focus
5. You must seek out and be open to new and unexpected sources of knowledge and emotional support for inspiring and objective feedback
6. You must believe that if you genuinely engage with the above “f’-steps in time you will go and grow with the flow, that is, for the actual, psychological and symbolic processes of grief, death and rebirth there is always an element of faith.

As I once penned: Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful illusion each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the stomach, the clenched fists and quivering jaw, the anguished sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like spring upon winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruitful renewal.

2. JL Planning
a. Self-Inventory and Investment. As we all know, shortly into the Millennium the dot.com world started imploding. And I was a rescue worker at Ground Zero providing stress and anger management workshops for Fairfax County Government’s career retraining program. Internet and telecom refugees poured into Government Drive as illusions, investors and IT companies were melting down.

Out of the downsizing and dissolution ashes, a key mantra emerged: “Take time to grieve; take time for a self-life inventory.” These displaced trainees were strongly encouraged to evaluate the strengths and vulnerabilities of their lives – their marketable skill sets, and the need for upgrading, as well as lifestyle habits, overall mind-body health and exercise patterns, the basic strength or toxicity of significant relationships, etc. Participants were usually discouraged from immediately taking another position out of a sense of shame, panic or perceived desperation. The plan was to fight impulsivity by investing time and energy in self-reflection and expert consultation. (A favorite analogy: If you were a car and brought yourself in for a thorough 50,000 mile checkup, you wouldn’t want the mechanic to just kick the tires or replace the oil, and then tell you to get back on the road.)

And for some folks, once over the shock and rage of being laid off, honest appraisal allowed for seeing the light, if not the silver lining. These individuals could relate to my diagnosis of the “Bjorn Bored Syndrome” (BBS). BBS is named for Bjorn Borg, the 1980s tennis great from Sweden who, despite being at his athletic peak, suddenly burnt out and dropped out from the tennis circuit. After winning five back-to-back French and Wimbledon tennis titles the thrill was gone. Add on the still necessary hours of repetitive, if not monotonous practice and you have the Bjorn Bored Syndrome: “When Mastery times Monotony provides an index of Misery!"

And in the training program, the BBS contingent could finally admit that they should have left their jobs way before being pushed. The stage for these individuals’ BBS had been set by their own need for “bs,” that is, to “be safe.” For some, being previously downsized kept them holding on despite their inner dissatisfaction with the job; for others, golden handcuffs kept them chained. And some were slothful or risk-averse. Whatever the “bs” motive, the result was being trapped in the proverbial (burnout) box.

Now people were ready to embrace the Stress Doc’s inoculation for BBS: Fireproof your life with variety…and honesty! Key questions were: What job or position really feels like me at this point in my life? What will help close the gap between my ideal self and my real self? What are keen interests or skills that I’d like put into action? Where is the fit between position and passion?

b. Coaching, Counseling and Career Support Groups. A successful job loss rebuilding process often involves conferring with a career coach, after doing some grief work. Of course, if you are feeling stuck in any of the grief stages – you can’t get out of a low energy, self-doubting, anxious or moody, bereft of hope, highly distracted, diminished powers of concentration and forever putting things off state – then psychological counseling needs to proceed coaching. And perhaps an evaluation for depression; burnout can morph into a mood disorder if not properly addressed. Consulting with the right professional is wise: you may need to sort out unresolved issues surrounding previous work-life stage loss and trauma (e.g., previous job terminations or unfinished family or marital separation conflicts) from present pain and confusion in order to have the energy and clarity for new path planning.

And once beginning to recharge and refocus, a great next step is joining a program that provides access to a career transition support group. For example, In DC there is Forty Plus, a volunteer-driven organization specializing in job and career path rebuilding and transitioning for professionals, academics, and managerial and entrepreneurial types. Of course, resume writing and interviewing skills classes are essential. However, the most cherished aspect of the program, as articulated by newly employed or self-employed graduates, is the catharsis and feedback, the networking and fellowship found in their support groups. There is a “higher power” potential for healing and planning when relating intimately with people who have been and/or are walking in those “where do I go next and how can I possibly get there” career path shoes.

C. Reorg Survival (RS)

1. RS Coping
a. “Four ‘R’s of Burnout Recovery/Prevention”. Surviving a restructuring or downsizing may initially bring relief. However, between dealing with the loss of colleagues, adjusting to new leaders, integrating unfamiliar tasks or people transferred into your department and, especially, having to “do more with less,” the relief is often short-lived. In time, you may find yourself becoming “lean-and-MEAN! Of course, sometimes you can be self-defeating and downsize yourself out of a position, that is, the wipeout is mostly self-inflicted. Either way there can be a burnout reckoning.

Let me share some wisdom gained from being a grandiose, if not totally off the academic wall, doctoral student. When pursuing the “holy grail” (or trying to cope valiantly with any exhausting “no win” situation) you can become rigid and righteous in your “oh so worthy” pursuit. (Or is it really the pursuit of self-worthiness?) You fight against the ego-deflating realization that your efforts are insufficient or your goals – dissertation or otherwise – are unrealistic and unobtainable. And after “academic flashdancing whirls and whirls to a burnout tango,” you collapse in defeat. And the only degree earned is being burned to the third degree. Still, with time, there was a silver lining: I became an expert on stress and burnout.

With a period of grief as a healing foundation, four activities greatly aided my rehabilitation and rejuvenation. The rebuilding quartet consisted of “Running,” “Reading,” “Retreating” and “Writing.” This “Four ‘R’” regimen heightens self-awareness, slows a burnout spiral and can prevent exhaustion and smoldering stress from combusting into a “3-D” burnout fire. Don’t be left “depleted, diseased and devastated.” Consider the “Four ‘R’s of Burnout Recovery and Prevention”:

1. Running. Regular aerobic exercise, that is 30 minutes of running, jogging or brisk walking or other kind of continuous large muscle movement, not only increases your energy but possibly stimulates those endorphins (or other brain chemicals) – the body’s natural pain killers and mood enhancers. It’s less a “runner’s high” and more a “runner’s calm” or “inner glow.” The discipline in following an exercise regimen boosts self-esteem that has likely been charred if not scarred by the burnout process. More specifically, no matter what else is going on (or not going on) in your life, exercise helps you create a “success ritual” – there’s a tangible sense of accomplishment and control. And it is just this sense of purpose and power that is threatened by the erosive spiral of the burnout process.

2. Reading. After reading up on my mind-body implosion, I turned to lighter fare. During my existential trial and trauma, humorous readings helped me recover a part of my humanity that had seemingly dried up – a capacity for laughter. Humor is also a vital burnout prevention vehicle. With some emotional distance, humor helps us to better recognize the absurdity in our own self-sacrificing and exhausting egoal-driven quests. Self-effacing humor pokes holes in and provides some proportion to all those ego- and mission-critical pronouncements and projects. And hearty laughter has been likened to “inner jogging”; analogous to vigorous exercise it too releases those calming, feel good endorphins.

3. Retreating. Both for recovery and prevention you need to reflect upon the fires around you and those consuming within? How close are the flames or are you already tied to a burnout stake? Have you already become charred steak if not feel like dead meat? And if the latter, what have you done or what are you currently doing that is contributing to this decidedly dysfunctional or dangerous situation? Often it takes a “dark night of the soul” experience to motivate soul searching and the reaching out for mind-body-soul support and sustenance.

4. Writing. For me, writing is an extension of the “R & R” – Retreat & Reflection – process. Not only does it help me sort out my psychic flotsam and jetsam, but it increases my understanding of the person-situation labyrinth in which I am seemingly trapped. Capturing a painful experience in words often reveals or helps design some overriding purpose to hurt, helplessness and humiliation. Let’s just say when it comes to transforming pain…“no brain, no gain.” There is a sense of transcendence:

   For the Phoenix to rise from the ashes
   One must know the pain
   To transform the fire to burning desire!

b. Group Grieving, Laughing and Bonding. When it comes to “Reorg Survival,” the goal must go beyond individual rejuvenation or helping a survivor gain psychological hardiness. The department, division or the entire organization may need rehabilitation. When the reorg dust settles both morale and productivity often take a hit as trusted leaders and collegial buddies are no longer on the playing field. Senior management needs to take the vital step of creating a support and problem-solving arena, e.g., one or more workshops or speaking programs, where the troops can assemble have a group grieving and rebuilding experience. Survivors need to vent their fears and frustrations for: 1) recommitting as a community, 2) rededicating to the team or company mission and 3) refocusing on goals and objectives.

Obviously, creating a safe atmosphere for such communal catharsis is essential. But so too is enabling participants to recognize both the serious and the humorous in most human experience and organizational endeavor. (We’ve previously noted the therapeutic value of laughter.) Also, people are more open to a serious message when it’s gift-wrapped with humor. As an example of such a multifaceted undertaking, let me share the words of Myra Mobley, Employment Transition Services Manager/Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) regarding a recent workshop, sponsored by the Ft. Myer Transition team, that was part of the reorganization process involving the civilian and military personnel of Ft. Myer:

“Your Practice Safe Stress workshop provided invaluable information in a relaxed and positive atmosphere…Many of the participants have expressed their gratitude to our teams for providing this valuable workshop during this time of reorganization and transition. They enjoyed their time with you and left feeling renewed and ready to tackle life’s difficult situations.”

For preventing reorg motivational meltdown and explosive (or passive-aggressive) acting out, with the help of a professional training leader/facilitator, try providing small and large group sharing, appropriate venting and genuine interaction; strike and tickle when the individual and the organization are hot!

2. RS Planning
a. Team Building. A critical component of the above-mentioned Ft. Myer reorganization planning was integrating a variety of support services. My workshop was just a piece of the intervention puzzle. In addition to the Virginia Employment Commission and the Ft. Myer Transition Team, also on call was the Ft. Myer Community Service which provides individual and family counseling, substance abuse counseling, as well as career coaching. Short-term coping and longer range planning services are seamless.

And this team of service providers and multifaceted employee resources, along with a large group information sharing and trust-building transitional stress program, creates an opportunity for systems intervention: strengthening the existing organizational team structure in the psychological and operational aftermath of reorganizational change. With the help of a team-building consultant, the backing of top management and ongoing regular team meetings (at least twice/month), the following group dynamic additions can have a potent team-building impact:

1. Two Hats. A supervisor or manager needs to learn to loosen up some of the overt control reins and really wear a team member hat during meetings, not just a leadership one.
2. Rotate Leadership. Try rotating the team leader or facilitator position among the team members. A manager often gleans valuable information regarding individual personalities and group communication and relationship patterns with an increased participant-observer role.
3. Wavelength Segment. In a “T n’ T” (Time- n’ Task-Driven) world, meetings often forego the chance for members to really tune in to each other. Carve out fifteen minutes at the end of a team meeting and allow for some high-touch connection: How are we working as a team? Are we processing sufficiently the impact of any change in team membership, work procedure and/or policy? Are there any emotional or interpersonal bumps in coordinating operations within the team or between the team and other departments? Are we taking the time to recognize and acknowledge our post-reorganization “do more with less,” heroic efforts as well as our achievements?

This tuning in segment is similar to some of the small group interactive exercises in the previously mentioned larger group “Safe Stress” workshop. Remember, in trying times, to go from transitional survival to transformational energy, to evolve from divisive group to cohesive team, tune in to turn on.

b. Organizational IRAs. In the aftermath of a turbulent if not traumatic transition, it’s vital that management make tangible efforts to bolster employee morale in order to regain or sustain commitment. And during this planning phase, along with team building efforts, there’s no better booster method than providing those “Organizational IRAs”: Incentives, Rewards and Advancement Opportunities. Especially when asking folks to “do more with less,” bonuses, “on the spot” recognition and training classes are a wise investment.

People won’t thrive in an organization if they feel ignored or see themselves as an isolated island survivor just marking time till they are cast off the island. Of course, motivational malaise will also break out if employees believe their fate is to be future fodder for the jaws of that reorg creature lurking just over the transitional horizon.

A final planning axiom: Management needs to be as real and transparent as possible both when sharing critical information regarding parameters for current layoffs and reorg survival as well as regarding the potential for any subsequent restructuring. An ability to provide vision (that’s not mostly hallucination), to offer sufficient IRAs, along with needed resources and support for goal achievement while taking an honest stand on the tough issues is the definition of effective individual, team and institutional leadership.

Closing Summary

Twelve broad psychological, career and organizational strategies for managing reorg uncertainty, job loss and change have been posited. These strategies were derived from a matrix comprised of two dimensions: a) the stress and change management actions of “Coping” and “Planning” and b) three organization-job status categories – “Organizational Uncertainity” (OU), “Job Loss” (JL) and “Reorg Survival” (RS). A dozen strategies and interventions were illustrated. The dynamic dozen:

A. Organizational Uncertainty (OU)

1. OU Coping
a) Stay Committed and in Control and b) Start Exploring/Networking

2. OU Planning
a) Jumpstarting Dreams and b) Upgrading Skills

B. Job Loss (JL)

1. JL Coping
a) Grief Process and b) the Six “F”s of Loss and Change

2. JL Planning
a) Self Inventory and Investment and b) Coaching, Counseling and Career Support Groups

C. Reorg Survival (RS)

1. RS Coping
a) Four “R”s of Burnout Recovery/Prevention and b) Group Grieving, Laughing and Bonding

2. RS Planning
a) Team Building and b) Organizational IRAs

By grappling with and implementing these strategic interventions, individuals, teams and organizations will improve their ability to respond to the emotional and interpersonal, the job-career path and system morale and productivity challenges generated by the reorganization-job loss-post-reorg process. And, finally, these coping and planning strategies and interventions will not only enhance the quality of survival – whether moving or staying on – but will also help you to…Practice Safe Stress!