Analysis
By s1jobs
With lockdown restrictions now easing, the hope is that many of the 280,000 or so Scots who remain on furlough will be going back to work in the coming weeks. The natural assumption is that those who do will feel an intense sense of relief, however new research has revealed that further difficulties could be on the horizon.
The study by business psychology firm Pearn Kandola surveyed 500 employees from across the UK, 253 of whom were on furlough, to examine the underlying psychological impact of being placed on extended temporary leave. Their findings uncovered a significant and troubling decline in wellbeing, personal confidence, job satisfaction and commitment among those on furlough.
It is understandable that after an extended absence, staff are less likely to feel a part of their organisation’s future. While the study’s sample size was relatively small, it points to a potential divide between those who have experienced the furlough process, and those who have not.
To be away for a long time – for some it has been more than a year – is undoubtedly frustrating. There were some imprudent generalisations being tossed about last year about “furlough freeloaders”, but the reality for the vast majority has been varying levels of anxiety about their financial future.
On the other hand, those who have been working may have felt extra pressure to perform well to justify their place. They may have also been dealing with extra workload to cover tasks normally undertaken by furloughed colleagues.
This sets the stage for an “us versus them” culture that would impact productivity and morale, and could create a hostile work environment. Further complicating matters is that for many organisations, this will take place as they are also attempting to repatriate staff back to the office, which will come with its own set of stresses and demands.
READ MORE: Unsettled workers eye up their options for the future
The leadership challenge is to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Ideally, employers should have kept up regular contact with furloughed staff, but if not, now is the time for clear communication on the reintegration process.
Staff need to be made aware of their return as soon as possible to give them time to prepare. Once back, it may be a good idea to run some team building exercises or other programmes to ease the return.
It could take years before we fully understand the impact of furlough on employees and organisations. In the meantime, employers must act now to combat any frustration or resentment that would have a lasting effect on performance.
Search the latest jobs in Scotland at s1jobs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here