During the morning meeting your manager announces that the company has been purchased by a competitor. The two companies will be merging all departments by year end, the headquarters will be located in a different state and your jobs are safe. Now, on to the rest of the meeting.
Of course, at this point you simply cannot hear anything the manager has to say. Just a few moments ago you were feeling secure and safe in your position/role within the company. Now there’s a possibility that you won’t have a job. Shock, fear and uncertainty are what you’re feeling and to heck with the rest of the meeting – how long before you’re laid off?!
Okay, get a grip. Take a breath. Your manager just told you that your job is safe. So, as far as you know, today you have a job. It is normal to feel a sense of despair, to have the pit of your stomach sink to new levels, to sweat a bit.
Allow yourself some time to adjust to the news. Cleaning out your desk is not necessary or warranted. Engaging in gossip with your co-workers will only make things worse and keep you away from taking care of your customers. Under no circumstances do you mention this information to your customers. Business will continue as usual and you are capable of continuing forward, even under some additional stress.
Eat a healthy diet, get plenty of rest, take time to play, take time to reflect. Remain calm through the next few days.
If your manager has not provided additional information in the following days, remember that he/she may not have information to provide. If you’re getting reassurances that your position is safe, then believe them.
Change is a process, not an event. View this change as an opportunity to grow, develop and improve. A new company means new products to learn, new customers to service, new personnel to welcome into the fold.
Thriving on change may not be your style, but now is the time to learn to be adaptable and flexible – it will help you work through the process more easily.
Bouncing back with resiliency allows you to deal with change more effectively.
More tips on how to deal with change:
Take personal responsibility to move through the change process by focusing on top priorities – primarily your customer.
Focus only on those things that are necessary to do your job better and to take care of your customer.
Look ahead to the end result of the change, look for the positives.
Move into problem solving mode. This way you stay in charge.
Any comments or stories you would like to add would be welcomed. In this day of constant changes within business structures we all need to know how to survive change and be better for it.
