Some companies have been seriously affected by the economic crisis that seems to hit many companies in the country. For this reason, a large number of companies have launched an avalanche of layoffs in order to try to improve their economic situation.
Entrepreneurs' nerves sometimes force them to make quick decisions, more the result of panic than reasoning. For this reason, it is important to stop to think seriously about the real situation of our company. Is the crisis really affecting me to an alarming degree? I comment on this point because, although it is true that there are companies that are in danger due to the crisis, other companies have been carried away by the psychological crisis, adopting extreme measures that do nothing but harm their real situation.
For this reason, we must be careful with the decisions we make, because those measures that we all consider “perfect” later we realize that they are not.
We are going to see what are the most used measures at present by companies that are in crisis and by those who believe they are.
- Measure number 1: Finish those workers who have a temporary contract (when they have reached the end date established in the contract). Measure number 2: Retire early, or through partial retirement, those workers who meet the requirements. Measure number 3: Agree with the workers on compensation X (which of course we will try to make less than what would correspond to them in the event of an unfair dismissal).
But what are the consequences of such decisions?
Temporary contracts are made mainly and generally to young workers. By terminating these contracts at the end of the contracted term, we are depriving our company of the freshness and new knowledge that they can bring. As a general rule, young workers aspire to more, are more ambitious, have a greater capacity for learning and adaptation, and have a longer career path. Betting on them is betting on the future.
Finishing those workers with temporary contracts is limiting the company's possibilities of adapting to an increasingly dynamic and competitive market.
Making early retirements and part-time retirements implies that older, older staff, who know the company better, who have more accumulated experience, will stop providing services for the company (or considerably reduce their working hours in the case of partial retirement).
As a general rule, older people are more regular and stable than younger people. A young worker who is starting out in the world of work will easily change companies if they are offered greater financial incentives. An older person will value another series of incentives more importantly, such as job stability, proximity to their home, good working environment and the independence inherent in so many years of profession.
Depriving the company of this group of workers may be successful in the short term (in terms of economic matters) but it will have lost the regularity and security that people with proven experience confer.
Finally, regarding the option of “agreeing” to layoffs with their workers, this may be the best option “a priori” but also the most expensive since the worker will only leave the company with good financial incentives.
Therefore, in this time of crisis, we have to think coldly before making any decisions. It is important that all the possibilities are taken into account and the options available to the company are studied.
Possibly a company that is really in crisis (and I am not referring to specific or specific financial problems), no longer has an option to choose, but you, who are still in a good situation within the stage in which we live, must know what Personnel count, maintain good judgment before proceeding to finish an entire group of workers and try to maintain a good balance in the company so that the remedy is not worse than the disease.
