WHEN TROUBLE begins at the top
Jun 02, 2009
Clara is worried. At her workplace, top managers are leaving one after the other. The company seems like it is on its last leg. “I don’t know what I am likely to find tomorrow,†Clara says. “Nearly every month, we have a new managing director.â€
By Rebecca Harshbarger
Clara is worried. At her workplace, top managers are leaving one after the other. The company seems like it is on its last leg. “I don’t know what I am likely to find tomorrow,†Clara says. “Nearly every month, we have a new managing director.â€
Instability at the workplace affects employees who are forced to speculate on the survival of their jobs and anticipate potential turnover on the job.
“I’ve been in a company where that has happened,†says Eseza Catherine Byakika, the chief human resource officer at National Housing and Construction Corporation, Kampala. “You see a lot of anxiety in the staff, and they don’t have access to the top people for answers.â€
This kind of instability is often common in companies whose bosses work on contract basis or are depending on donors, who may immediately sack a manager who does not dance to their tunes.
John Clement Kisauzi, a private human resource consultant on Lumumba Avenue, Kampala, also observes that the shakeup leads to gossip and inability to work.
“People are discouraged. And spend more time talking about the shakeup than concentrating on their work,†Kisauzi says. “Those who were reporting directly to the manager, start dodging work or doing everything in their own time.â€
It could be worse as workers are likely to pursue new jobs with other companies.
Causes of instability
- Insufficient funds in the organisation can cause insecurity although blame is usually given to those at the top.
- Stalled growth.
- Failure to take off or to match previous successes.
- Discrimination, where a manager is found to use tribalism, sectarianism or even seeks favours to employ staff.
- Sometimes, political influence by government bodies can also undermine organisations, weakening their goals and causing mistrust between employees.
- Incompetent managers who are unable to communicate effectively with their workers or enhance their organisation’s stability exacerbate or even cause such situations.
How to deal with an unstable workplace:
- Develop a back-up plan in case your job is jeopardised by insecurity at work.
- Invest some of your salary in side businesses so that you are not dependent solely on one job.
- If possible, increase on the amount of money you save so that you will have something to survive on while you search for other opportunities.
- Approach the human resource for information and updates on your company or organisation, rather than relying on office gossip, which can be both inaccurate and mean-spirited.
- If staff get information from their department or the CEO of their company, they will be more content than if they hear it through the grapevine.
- Make an effort to understand any external pressures that top management might be facing to get a holistic or complete picture of what your company is facing.
Clara is worried. At her workplace, top managers are leaving one after the other. The company seems like it is on its last leg. “I don’t know what I am likely to find tomorrow,†Clara says. “Nearly every month, we have a new managing director.â€
Instability at the workplace affects employees who are forced to speculate on the survival of their jobs and anticipate potential turnover on the job.
“I’ve been in a company where that has happened,†says Eseza Catherine Byakika, the chief human resource officer at National Housing and Construction Corporation, Kampala. “You see a lot of anxiety in the staff, and they don’t have access to the top people for answers.â€
This kind of instability is often common in companies whose bosses work on contract basis or are depending on donors, who may immediately sack a manager who does not dance to their tunes.
John Clement Kisauzi, a private human resource consultant on Lumumba Avenue, Kampala, also observes that the shakeup leads to gossip and inability to work.
“People are discouraged. And spend more time talking about the shakeup than concentrating on their work,†Kisauzi says. “Those who were reporting directly to the manager, start dodging work or doing everything in their own time.â€
It could be worse as workers are likely to pursue new jobs with other companies.
Causes of instability
- Insufficient funds in the organisation can cause insecurity although blame is usually given to those at the top.
- Stalled growth.
- Failure to take off or to match previous successes.
- Discrimination, where a manager is found to use tribalism, sectarianism or even seeks favours to employ staff.
- Sometimes, political influence by government bodies can also undermine organisations, weakening their goals and causing mistrust between employees.
- Incompetent managers who are unable to communicate effectively with their workers or enhance their organisation’s stability exacerbate or even cause such situations.
How to deal with an unstable workplace:
- Develop a back-up plan in case your job is jeopardised by insecurity at work.
- Invest some of your salary in side businesses so that you are not dependent solely on one job.
- If possible, increase on the amount of money you save so that you will have something to survive on while you search for other opportunities.
- Approach the human resource for information and updates on your company or organisation, rather than relying on office gossip, which can be both inaccurate and mean-spirited.
- If staff get information from their department or the CEO of their company, they will be more content than if they hear it through the grapevine.
- Make an effort to understand any external pressures that top management might be facing to get a holistic or complete picture of what your company is facing.