Master and Doctor Organizational Psychology
business consultant and speaker management and Management
Lima, Peru
Who does not have someone in your family currently unemployed? The answer is probably yes in most cases, you may know little about what it means to lose their jobs, even now appears to be a very common situation becomes substantive argument for some TV series.
Job loss is considered by psychologists as one of the strongest and disruptive life events, calculated each year affecting 10 million people worldwide.
psychophysical effects faced by people who are in this situation, take the form of anxiety, heavy damage to self-esteem, guilt, impaired self-concept, psychosomatic symptoms, irritability, hypertension, stress, depression, abandonment and can cause severe pathologies such as alcoholism or other psychoactive substance addiction. It usually affects the deterioration of psychological health, the welfare loss and dissatisfaction with life.
These and more are common signs for people who have been dismissed from a company. At the family level, in the case of the dismissal of head of household, family relationships become strained gradually, or cold distant, increasing friction and discussions, the lack of tolerance, social friction and change of roles that eventually forces the wife if she works to meet the livelihood of the household or to find a job if age and qualification required permits, the male will therefore be forced to deal with domestic issues. Disturbances including children reach school age, their parents will be forced to change schools or university in particular of which were in a state simply because the economic situation is not the same.
have been reported in the unemployed, even extreme reactions against dismissal, such as aggression (Burn the workplace) or other character intrapunitivo (Suicide). The case is more serious when the head of household spends 40 years of age will not be easy getting a job soon and even worse if you do not have the required technical skills and will have to settle venture into activities or trades below which was never used, or a first time to represent a decent job with their social environment.
For the removal of senior executives, as reported by Temple (2001), people think that those who leave these positions or positions of power, do with all that money and contacts that should have no problem to continue their careers. The hard truth is that more power and lost position is even more difficult to adapt to new situations and logically to live without power. It happens that many executives find it difficult to stand and reconsider its new identity, go back to the flat face Unanswered phone calls, invitations and greetings that fail, doors that do not open as before, and realize you have less friends those who believed. It is important to do so, as she has power and position, avoid isolation and vanity that it can bring, not accustomed to listen only to those who tell us what we want to hear or who always claim to be our faithful contributors.
Loneliness in these positions can achieve disconnected from market realities, the organization and our own life become inflexible worse victims of our own success. Many times the "lack of time and interest leads us not to use real time to our family, to devote to the limelight and social gatherings at the same time to forget old friends, each call is not returned or a friend unattended, it will be later charged with interest.
Among the reasons for the separation work in recent years, first explained that the working world is really changing significantly as a result of globalization of the economy, technological development, the mergers of companies, closures, reductions, restructuring, outsourcing (outsourcing services), the reconfiguration of jobs, the change in load profile, reducing payroll , among others. Here are some of the consequences of this global phenomenon that affects all countries.
technological innovation and adaptation to the modern world is now a strategic imperative of life for all organizations, which must commit firmly to ensure their survival in an increasingly competitive environment and changing, it inevitably requires companies need to optimize the efficiency of staff and therefore the quality of their products or services.
Secondly, among the root causes of this change are economic downturns of the 80 - 90, which is still more acute today, coupled with the long decline in global competitiveness of companies, causing many firms to innovate technology overburdening staff, feeling slow and inefficient.
Thirdly, a key reason is the lack of foresight of some workers covered in the "Traditional job security" or contacts or affinity with prominent executives, made little effort to upgrade and continuously trained to optimize their professional skills, personal and labor, a condition sine qua non to stay in employment, emphasizing the need to maintain a personal marketing that favors an assertive behavior and positive interpersonal relationships at all levels, projecting trust, loyalty and commitment within your team and to their superiors.
Fourthly, we believe that the high competitiveness and supply the markets with the consequent inability to maintain prices in the goods and / or services is generating ever smaller profit margins, is one of the reasons that have led many companies have been forced to reduce staff costs to maintain and increase their profits, which led to the downsizing (reduction of the structure and personnel costs) is one of the alternatives to implement and therefore these programs have not been a mere cyclical phenomenon but a trend that is still relevant in all countries, with serious impact on developing countries as Peru, where mass was applied from the 90's, without taking into account an effective outplacement program in the institutions and public enterprises and the private, ever increasing the number of unemployed and likely to be increasing.
In the last decade, comes in many American, European and Latin American countries a management tool with great psychological stress, called "Outplacement Program" to cope with the trauma of redundancy and make the worker's earnings is not a fatal situation without solution but as a new challenge to face towards finding a new job or occupation.
Organizations should consider in our country, in the near future this technique, as a real response to their moral concerns, making a mea culpa and trying to make "a farewell without pain" or "less pain", treating the impact of dismissal is not traumatic both for workers to dissociate themselves and those who remain in the organization, affecting as little as possible the psychological atmosphere that will surely today's business in these conditions is fraught with tensions, uncertainties and fears.
Outplacement programs (OPC) is a collection of strategies to support, counseling and technical assistance to those persons subject to a labor detachment. First was named decruiment or dehired, is attributed to North coining the term "Outplacement" which does not have a specific translation in English. The most accepted definition is attributed to Kabana R. (1987) who defines this technique as "a process of consulting, support, guidance and training aimed at the person for graduation or be transferred to the search for a new job or activity level or conditions similar to those of his previous occupation in the shortest possible time. "
The contribution of psychology to these transition processes work is significantly important, especially in the early stages of the process, both psychological support as psychometric assessments of skills, occupational guidance, counseling and job search market. The emphasis of this work is also aimed at those getting ready to retire either naturally or early, providing training, assisting in the company of a family, allowing them to establish a strategy to plan your life plan extra course work and prepare to live with a level of desirable quality of life and in which undoubtedly play an important role in the family.
OPC benefits to the organization that developed this program with the respective external counseling are many, we summarize the most important
- Recognize that the human factor is really important as a major strategic asset for organizational development.
- OPC process taking place in the organization is itself a moral commitment that magnifies and enhances the values \u200b\u200bof the same.
- Maintaining credibility and confidence of staff to the executive executing the program, having performed with an appropriate moral criterion and with respect to the working class.
- secure and maintain the company's ongoing commitment, motivation, dedication and loyalty of workers who continue working.
- Flexible and sensitize staff to accept and meet the new demands that the environment changes, in which participation is inevitable process as the main "strategic partner" and lead partner. Providing support for
- a successful transition, helping the worker to accept the plans for "voluntary retirement and reconciled," allowing a separation without further trauma to the organization and staff, minimizing labor disputes and restore dignity to the contributor.
- Strengthen and maintain the good image of the organization to its customers, suppliers, financial institutions and general public.
OPC benefits for employees terminated are:
- With the participation of workers in a program of OPC, in a short time can overcome the personal and family crisis and trauma that may have resulted in the dismissal untimely; transforming the crisis into an opportunity for professional and personal development.
- give participants the opportunity to consider all options for planning your career, family and social, with the ability to develop and launch a new business plan.
- Reduce the unemployment period, achieving a more rapid relocation in the labor market, taking training in the most effective techniques for finding a new job, cope appropriately in job interviews, develop a winning resume and especially strengthen self-esteem and personality. Publicize
- that has skills in order to start a business own.
In our country we will mention the work done by DBM of Peru, an organization that is successfully developing outplacement programs, aimed primarily at executives Peruvians.
An additional contribution in the country, is the quasi research findings experimental developed in 2000 by the author of this note to let him choose the degree of Master in Organizational Psychology.
In this research studied the differences in levels of depression, self-image and adaptation in a group of dismissed workers occupationally involved in an OPC program (experimental group) comparison with another group of workers who were not involved equally unrelated to the program (Control group).
The results obtained according to the applied statistical tests and retests administered were quite satisfactory for workers who participated in the OPC program, showing a substantial improvement in self-image and depression levels of adaptation, compared with those not involved in that program.
- Served with sources of four-dimensional diagnosis Questionnaire for Depression Fernández Alonso (CET-DE), The Self Concept Scale Morris Rosenberg and Questionnaire Adaptation of Hugh M. Bell.
