Redundancy

With new research suggesting that it may be 2013 before we start to see any significant upturn in employment, middle-aged managers in their 40s and 50s will remain especially vulnerable to the axe.

If you are unfortunate enough to have lost your job recently, take heed of new research that warns you've got six months at most before the stigma of being branded long-term unemployed starts to kick in.

Once again it's time to discuss a survey that needn't ever take place, because the results were so obvious - the effects of layoffs on those left behind.

Fear can make people do funny things, especially if their livelihood is on the line. But, let's be honest, as the economy has slowed down to a crawl, is this fear really rational?

Managing too many redundancies can leave managers emotionally numb and distanced from their teams. So it is vital that organisations do more to ensure that managers don't lose their humanity.

I can say, hand on heart, that there are few more unpleasant moments in one's career than having to wait out a company re-organization.

If you live in America, then you certainly know that you can always count on Fox TV to act with total class. In keeping with their long tradition of quality programming, now they're launching a reality television show around layoffs.

With the job market going down the tubes, professionals across the board are looking for things to do with their time. Those who once enjoyed six-figure salaries are now volunteering their time to help those in need.

Surely it is just common sense to keep your best talent if you want a company to survive an economic downturn? After all, your best performers are also the people who'll find it easiest to secure a job elsewhere.

With many able individuals finding themselves unemployed through no fault of their own, its worth remembering that actors have a thing or two to teach the rest of us about maintaining standards of performance and self-worth during long periods of unemployment.

Just been laid off? Job looking a bit insecure? You may not want to know therefore that most out-of-work executives now expect it will take them at least four months to land a new job, and some as long as seven.

Instead of just expecting workplace survivors to get on with things as normal, we need to realize that people who come close to losing their jobs face a whole set of psychological issues of their own.

Organisations may still be desperate to cut costs, but there are signs that many have now completed their wave of mass layoffs and redundancies - for now at least.

The key to handling redundancy well is recognising that the effect of losing a job or a trusted colleague is similar to the grief of losing a loved one. So what can you do to mitigate the cycle of grief?

Cutting staff numbers may seem like a way to trim costs in a recession. But it can often backfire, leading to a much greater exodus than you intended and a collapse in morale and performance.

According to management consultants, people tend to be demotivated and lethargic after surviving a layoff. Being a professional web site, I won't print what blurted out of my mouth upon reading that.

With the economy in the state it is right now, anything you can do to make sure it isn't your head on the block if more cuts come is going to be welcome. Here are some tips.

Whether you're in N. America, Asioa or Europe, the game remains the same and it's important to keep a level head during these trying times - especially if the worst happens and you loose your job.

Firms large and small and on both sides of the Atlantic are looking at shorter working weeks and reduced hours as a desperate alternative to redundancies.

A good friend or former co-worker has suddenly found himself or herself out of a job. What do you say? It's almost as difficult as speaking to someone who has experienced a death in the family.

Before cutting jobs, take a deep breath and consider whether this is really the answer to your woes, or whether it simply create even more problems down the line.

Reducing your workforce is never a pleasant task. But failing to take account of the needs of those left behind can turn an already difficult situation into a disaster.

Now is really not a good time to be working in the US or the UK. I have to say, returning to what Americans like to refer to as "Old Europe" (namely France) may have been my best move in recent memory – even if people around me doubted it for a time.

In the current climate, rumors regarding "down-sizing" and layoffs are bound to spread. But what are the signs that the layoffs may really be coming?

Supporting redundant workers through outplacement services is not just morally right, its a highly effective way of retaining and motivating those left behind.

Job losses are starting to accelerate as the credit crunch, soaring prices and economic downturn move off the financial pages and start to become a reality.

First the good news – senior British managers have seen their earning power increase dramatically this year. The bad news is they are also more likely to be out of a job.

Fewer than a fifth of American chief financial officers are optimistic the U.S will escape a recession, and the deepening downturn is prompting them to cut back on spending and hiring and start laying workers off.

As Indian workers are toasting record pay rises, their counterparts in America are bracing themselves for a wave of job cuts.

Workers who choose to take voluntary redundancy from their jobs are less depressed and are more motivated to find a new job than those who loose their job involuntarily.

Staff who survive a round of corporate downsizing run a significantly increased risk of suffering mental health problems because of the increase workload they face once colleagues have left.

Americans who have been unfortunate enough to lose their jobs during the first half of the year can are likely to have have found new jobs more quickly than in each of the past two years.

Losing a job later in life more than doubles the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, according to research from Yale University.

Americans have accepted corporate layoffs as the norm, in the process creating a society of unstable, temporary workers, a new book has argued.

Workers within some of the world's key economic powerhouses are the most worried about losing their jobs, according to new research.

The 2,300 British workers being made redundant by car maker Peugeot Citroen are getting conflicting signals on what the future will hold for them in terms of employment.

Sacking an employee can be a hugely stressful experience for the boss doing the firing as much as for the employee, with managers often suffering sleepless nights as a result, a survey has found.

Business life is full of stresses and none carries a bigger whammy than being laid off. Downsized. Rightsized. Restructured. It doesn't matter what it's called - it's all the same sting if you are on the receiving end of the pink slip.

It will be anything but a happy New Year for many U.S workers, with more than a quarter of businesses saying they plan to lay workers off and even more intending to do so without providing any severance pay, a new study has said.

Two-thirds of employers get workers to sign compromise agreements when they leave to prevent them from taking the organisation to an employment tribunal at a later date.

Workers in the U.S. and UK are among the most nervous in the world about their job prospects over the coming year, with almost a quarter worrying that they could face the axe as confidence levels plunge.

British workers are some of the most pessimistic in the world about the future of their jobs, at the same time as employers are reporting a recruitment slowdown, according to latest research.

Men who fail to progress up the career ladder are far more likely to suffer psychological distress than women, according to new British research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Getting laid off is becoming a more painful for many American executives as employers ease back on the amount of severance pay they award departing employees.

The same week that HP announced it would be laying off approximately 15,000 employees, it also announced it would be taking on one new employee who will be getting a compensation package with an estimated worth of $15.3 million per year

Workers who see colleagues being treated badly or made redundant are move likely to leave their jobs, even if they are not personally affected, a study has suggested.

Fear of redundancy is on the increase amongst UK workers. But their fears are nothing compared with the deep pessimism felt by their German colleagues.

Optimistic predictions that the workers laid off at Longbridge will be snapped up by other industries in short order may be wide of the mark, a study has suggested.

The Australian Visa Bureau has suggested that workers from Rover's Longbridge plant consider moving Down Under if – as looks likely - the car firm collapses.

Rover's problem over the past 20 years has been a succession of bad decisions delivered by bad managers who seemed to learn nothing from its various partners and acquirers. Maybe the old dog is better off dead, says Max Mckeown.

The "bowler hats and bureaucrats" image of the public sector – and the view that job cuts can be made without having a negative impact on services – is a myth, unions have argued.

British businesses simply do not get it when it comes to managing change effectively, creating stress, harassment and conflict at work, according to a new report.

Up to 100 top City lawyers could lose their jobs as a slowdown in corporate deal activity finally catches up with London's legal profession.

A future Conservative government would slash the size of the Department of Trade and Industry by more than three quarters in a bid to reduce red tape.

Next year is likely to be a tough one for employers, who will be under pressure on pay and prices while at the same time finding it harder than ever to recruit the right people into vacant jobs.

New research examining the way companies manage staff redundancies has found that skills and competencies are more important than the job someone does in selection for redundancy, while the line managers’ verdict is crucial.

Norway is home to the world's most confident workers, global research has found, with workers in Hong Kong and Switzerland the most worried about their futures.

Cutting staff can cause serious – even fatal - health problems for the employees who are left behind, according to a Finnish study published in the British Medical Journal.

A new survey has found that workers are "haunted" by the fear of redundancy as uncertainty continues to dog British industry.

Some 700,000 jobs in the UK’s manufacturing sector have disappeared over the past five years according to official figures.