Hopefully companies are providing communications training for their managers. And creating opportunities for them to become comfortable with delivering difficult messages. That will go a long way in helping morale.

Thankfully, I’m currently with an organization that seems to have its act together in this respect, which contributes strongly to retention, inward mobility and even recruiting.

While I wrote the post a little bit tongue-in-cheek, your comment only highlights that companies are ignoring their employees during these tough times. I’ve been through recessions before – although not as challenging as this one. And while I’ve had to do layoffs, restructure salaries, and renegotiate benefits, I found that being open and honest with employees made a significant difference. They might have not always liked what I said…but they knew I was being straight with them.

You mentioned an interesting point about the behavior of management. Not only are people experiencing the cuts and reductions, but the back-stabbing and politics that seems to have surfaced. It reminds me of the lesson I’ve learned during this recession – you can really judge the character of a person by the way they act when they have money and then don’t have money.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Most appreciated.