The old idea of working for one company your whole life is gone. Likewise, combining companies cannot ignore the immediate effects of a merger or acquisition on their employees. Dr. John C. Bruckman, managing director for Change Management Group in Laguna Beach, Calif., has helped companies through three dozen mergers during the past 30 years. And the effects of the initial announcements are consistent. Motivation goes down.
Productivity goes down tremendously.
For six to 18 months there is a diminishment of motivation and work levels, and a lot of people are spending time on their own careers. I tell CEOs that everybody is self-employed. Nowadays they are their own company. As long as the company they're working for is taking advantage of them, they say, they can take advantage of the company. When you have very very low unemployment, anyone can walk out the door and go somewhere else.