After redundancies, the work remains. What happens to the people left behind?
Updated: 3 days ago
When a business makes half its team redundant, the people who remain do not simply carry on as before. They have lost colleagues, routines and knowledge. They may feel relief that they still have a job alongside guilt, worry about their own future or anger about how the change was handled.
Then Monday arrives. The inbox is still full. Clients still expect answers. Someone says, “We all need to pull together.” But if half the team has gone and almost all the work remains, goodwill cannot close the gap indefinitely.
The hidden cost of asking fewer people to do the same work
The remaining employees may initially work longer hours to keep things moving. Some take on tasks without training, while managers spend more time firefighting. Work is delayed, mistakes become more likely and the team has less room to improve the service or support one another.
People may be reluctant to say they are struggling. They have just seen colleagues lose their jobs and may fear that raising a concern makes them look less committed. Silence can be mistaken for capacity. Over time, confidence in leadership can suffer, sickness absence may rise and valued employees may start looking elsewhere.
These are possible outcomes, not an inevitable response to every redundancy. How the organisation handles the work afterwards matters.
Redundancy is a change to the work, not just the headcount
Before handing tasks to the remaining team, leaders should answer a practical question: what work will stop? If the business still needs nearly the same output, it needs a credible plan for capacity, skills and priorities.
Start by mapping the work that was done by the departing team. Decide what is essential, what can be delayed or simplified, and what should end. Assign each remaining responsibility clearly. Check whether people have the training, authority and time to take it on. If the gap is temporary, consider short-term cover or specialist support rather than allowing an unspoken expectation of permanent overtime.
Talk with the people affected. Explain what has changed and what is still undecided. Invite them to describe the real workload, including the tasks that are easy to miss on an organisation chart. Make it safe to say that a deadline or service level is no longer realistic. Then act on what they tell you and review the plan after it has been running.
Employers should assess and address work-related stress risks, including demands and organisational change. If changes to duties or contractual terms are proposed, take advice and consult the affected employees appropriately. A manager saying “we will manage” is not a substitute for a workable plan.
What can an employee do?
If your workload has increased sharply, write down the new tasks, hours and deadlines. Ask your manager which work takes priority and what can wait. Explain where training, cover or decisions are needed. If the pressure is affecting your health, raise that directly and use the support and reporting routes available at work. You should not have to guess which of several impossible deadlines matters most.
The leadership test comes afterwards
Redundancies can sometimes be necessary. The measure of a responsible process is also what happens to the people who stay. Give them a realistic workload, honest communication and the support to do their jobs well. Otherwise the organisation may lose more than the roles it removed.
Need help planning the work and supporting the team after a restructure? The HFactor provides practical, senior HR support with redundancy, organisational change and employee relations. Send Karen an enquiry for an initial conversation.
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