Healing the Wounds. - book reviews

HR Magazine, August, 1994 by John W. Hodge

Healing the Wounds by avid M. Noer is written to provide managers with strategies for managing the problems of downsizing. Noer's basic premise is that employees who are laid off experience severe emotional trauma. He also suggests that the emotional reactions of even the employees not being laid off are similar to the five-step model of grieving popularized by Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

With effective management, however, Noer suggests these problems can be minimized through a change in management's basic orientation toward employees. The tradition in management has been to emphasize to employees that if they work hard, there will be a job for them. However, the many changes affecting organizations in the '90s, with particular emphasis on downsizing, make this approach outdated. If managers continue to create the impression that good work equals job security, the emotional problems associated with downsizing are exacerbated.

The modern view that Noer advocates is to regard employment as more of a temporary relationship. Organizations need to create a culture emphasizing that lifetime employment is no longer guaranteed or implied. To educate the reader with this thought-provoking philosophy, Noer has put together a well-written book. Healing the Wounds is divided into four parts and is well-organized, with a focus on how to understand and implement his ideas.

Part 1 provides an excellent overview of Noer's philosophy, stressing the emotional traumas all employees experience when the organization downsizes. Of particular interest to me was the focus on managers and employees who are not laid off. To be successful, organizations have to remember that those individuals who remain with the company are filled with negative emotions because they anticipate being next.

Part 2 attempts to show how the emotional experiences of being laid off are similar to the emotions involved with other traumatic situations we all experience. The best aspect of this section, however, is the strong message that unless organizations do something to heal these wounds, time itself will not do the job.

In Part 3, two themes permeate the discussions. The layoff process has to be managed by placing particular emphasis on employee communication. Although Noer's approach to communication is typical, his focus on total communication with as much advance notice as possible given to employees was noteworthy. Strategies should be seen as long term, and all employees should be included in any intervention strategy.

Part 4 focuses on the issues leaders will face once the new work environment has been created. Unfortunately, this was the weakest section.

I believe Noer underestimates the implications of his model; the attitudinal changes it requires of employees are significant. Noer gives inadequate attention to the potential problems related to job security that could occur in this transition from long-term to short-term commitments. For instance, employee loyalty could be compromised. If we give employees the impression that our commitment to them is short-term, what happens if they feel the same way toward the organization. Are there productivity implications?

In conclusion, the positives of Healing the Wounds far outweigh the negatives. Noer's basic premise is interesting and certainly thought provoking. However, as stated earlier, the absence of discussion about potential negative consequences of Noer's philosophy cannot be overlooked. I found Healing the Wounds easy to read, and it will give the busy human resource practitioner something to think about without taking a great deal of time.

Healing the Wounds by David M. Noer. Jossey-Bass Inc., (415) 433-1740, 1993, 247 pages, $22.95.

John W. Hodge is professor of management at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Mich., and a regular contributor to the Bookshelf.