During the pandemic, managers championed an employee-centric style of leadership that prioritised personal wellbeing and mental health, explains Anna Tavis, a professor of human capital management at New York University. “We were encouraged to bring our whole selves to work,” she says. As a result, many workers are feeling a sense of cognitive dissonance – both those laid off, and others who live in fear of being axed next. Tavis explains that during Covid-19, they were told one thing – but now they’re experiencing something that discredits that narrative. “It’s making leadership seem inauthentic, and that’s understandably having an impact on employee trust in leadership,” she says. Some experts warn that if waves of layoffs like the ones we’ve recently seen – or even just the looming possibility of such cuts – continue to be part of working life, organisational cultures could also deteriorate, having a grim ripple effect on everything from employee engagement and productivity, to physical and mental health. And what’s worse, these conditions could touch generations to come.
Josie Cox, ‘The toll of layoff anxiety’, BBC
