After years of watching companies hire and spend, employees are suffering from flagging morale wrought by the dramatic economic slowdown. Job insecurity is triggering politicking and competitiveness among co-workers.
Employees report that trust in management is waning.
And even at companies unscathed by layoffs, workers are distracted as their financial worth plummets with the stock market. This has come so fast that employees feel shell-shocked. Signs of the shift abound. More than half of workers believe a recession is imminent, according to a survey by recruiting site Headhunter.net. Employees worry shortened workweeks, telecommuting, job sharing and other work-life initiatives will be scrapped as firms cut costs.