It is also important to be forthright in communicating the bad news to the terminated employee and to avoid vacillating about the termination (Stewart & Brown). In addition, Stewart and Brown point out that the due process followed in most organizations means that employees will already know they are being terminated and why, and recommend keeping the dismissal meeting brief. Next, Stewart and Brown cite the need to provide the terminated employee with the opportunity to vent following the official notification that they have been laid off because this will be a natural reaction. An important point made by Stewart and Brown, though, is to avoid engaging the laid-off employee concerning the reasons for the termination, but rather to allow them the chance to speak their minds and communicate their sides of the story. Finally, Stewart and Brown recommend providing a written copy of the meeting to laid-off workers, as well as guidance concerning the return of company equipment, the last day of employment and how to continue any available company benefits such as health insurance.

Evaluation of Compensation the Company May Provide the Separated Employee

If employees are separated for cause such as theft or violence with coworkers, it is likely that no compensation will be offered (Stewart & Brown). In other cases, though, the company may provide separated employees compensation, especially in those cases where the terminated employee agrees to forego any legal action as a result of the separation (Stewart & Brown).

Timeline of the Disbursement of the Compensation

The compensation offered employees at the time of their termination is intended to help them pay living expenses during their search for a new job (Stewart & Brown). Therefore, the amount of compensation will depend on the employee's pay scale, the potential for reemployment in the community, and the ability of the employer to pay such compensation. A representative timeline of disbursement for compensation for a representative employee earning $500 a week with good prospects for locating a new job within 9 weeks is set forth in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Timeline for disbursement of severance compensation

TIME (WEEKS)

Week No. 1

Week No. 2

Week No. 3

Week No. 4

Week No. 5

Week No. 6

Week No.7

Week No. 8

Week No. 9

1

$500

2

The company's long-term legacy in the community may be damaged if layoffs are handled inappropriately (Lin, 2012).
2. Survivors may work harder but will suffer from increased stress in the process (Stewart & Brown).

3. Survivors may look for other jobs, increasing unplanned turnover (Stewart & Brown).

Conclusion

The research showed that three ways lay-off managers can cope with the negative emotions that are associated with the separation experience include providing laid-off employees with severance packages, providing outplacement services to help laid off workers find new jobs and providing psychological counseling to help laid off workers deal with their grief and anxiety over their job loss. The research also showed that there are some important steps that lay-off managers should take during dismissal meetings, including conducting the meetings face-to-face with a third party and alerting company security concerning the event so that arrangements can be made to ensure safety and the return of sensitive company equipment and information. It was also shown to be important to provide terminated employees with a written account of the meeting as well as guidance concerning how to continue benefits and the last day of employment, if applicable. In addition, it is important to provide terminated employees with the opportunity to voice their views about their experience is needed, but lay-off managers should avoid becoming engaged with them since they is not the time or place for this discourse. Finally, three negative consequences that are associated with improperly administered lay-offs include damage to the company's long-term legacy in the community, increased stress levels for surviving employees and increased unplanned turnover.

References

Lin, J.C. (2012, December). Deal with laying people off -- Layoff manager's coping strategies.

International Journal of Business Strategy, 12(4), 131-136.

Stewart, G.L., & Brown, K.G. (2012). Human resource management (2nd ed.). Danvers, MA:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.