Managing Through Fear and Uncertainty
Managers at Citigroup have begun to experience the latter. Last January, CEO Jane Fraser announced that the company will cut 20,000 jobs by 2026. Many employees don’t yet know if they will be affected. In some cases, neither do their bosses. Some are nervous wondering “am I next?” or “how will we get this work done if someone from my team vanishes?” CNBC quoted a former employee who said, "Morale (at Citigroup) is super, super low. They’re (current employees) saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m getting hit, or if my manager is getting hit.’ People are bracing for the worst."
Needless to say, some managers wonder how to motivate their teams with so much fear and insecurity in the air. Many tend to overwork to prove they are worthy of keeping on board. Others don’t care. CNBC quoted a different anonymous Citigroup employee saying, “People are looking (for new jobs) aggressively. I know senior VPs who are on vacation now, but they’re never coming back.”
Executives whose jobs are secure aren’t, reportedly, showing much empathy. Consider that Fraser herself issued a warning to employees. "We don't have room for bystanders, we don't have room for people who want to stand on the sidelines."
Does that sound like empathy, management by objective or more like a threat? Few of the experts we interviewed recommended such talk. To be fair, Fraser also said that "We'll be saying goodbye to some very talented and hard-working colleagues."