Overwhelmingly, U.S. law firms handle lay-offs, especially of associates as humanely as possible. Often this means allowing the employee to continue working for a period of time while they look for another job. While firms take pride in this humane method as reflective of a family culture, most HR experts advise that permitting an employee to continue work after being informed that they will be laid-off is a big mistake. They point out that employees, when advised of being laid-off, will rapidly assess their chances of finding another job quickly and, typically, will view their potential more pessimistically than the facts would justify. However, in the current economy, the opportunities for laid-off associates and staff members are not strong so the pessimism will likely be very strong.
Organizational psychologists point out that there are two possible reactions to a lay-off situation. The first is the “Woe is Me” response in which the employee uses the severance period to get peers and particularly partners to feel sorry for them and, hopefully, intercede on their behalf. This, of course, results in a dismal workplace, increases the stress of the lay-off on the culture and places more guilt on the partnership. The other response is active efforts to “Save My Job.” This option is more prevalent with associates than staff members but it involves taking on work to make their efforts vital to the firm in the eyes of the supervising partner.
In either case, termination consultants suggest that having employees wrap-up their work quickly and leave the firm, even if it involves a significant severance, is preferable to what may seem a more humane approach.
