Light a fire

摘要

As a result of the worst economic crisis in recent history, workers across the country have, undoubtedly, been shaken. When layoffs, pay and benefit reductions, salary freezes and restructuring first began to occur, employees everywhere seemed to understand the magnitude of the crisis and were happy to just have a job. Indeed, the phrase "job security" took on an entirely new meaning for many—both the employed and the unemployed alike. Unfortunately, these newfound feelings of job appreciation havenow given way to feelings of burn-out, recession fatigue, and self-preservation. This has led to declining levels of motivation, pride and trust in many workplaces. And employees are beginning to take a close look at their work life and asking themselvesif they really want to stay with their current employer. Although you may be blameless in the economic crisis and although you may have made wise moves to maintain the health of your organization, your employees may still want to jump ship. Why? Because it's human nature for people to want to disassociate themselves with bad memories. Unfortunately, if you found it necessary to deploy traditional belt-tightening labor practices to cope with your business challenges, your company may be that bad memory.