In anticipation of a pending merger between their firm and another, employees have been showing signs of growing stress and concern. Many are worried about whether they will lose their jobs, face cuts in pay and benefits, and otherwise be hurt by the merger. Team leaders have received updates, though tentative and incomplete, about recent developments. Upper management has communicated nothing directly to employees about likely consequences of the merger, saying, ""We don't know everything ou

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The Answer is Team leaders must be encouraged to recognize that this is a situation of tremendous uncertainty and associated stress for team members, and that team members thirst for information. They are concerned not just about their own jobs but also about those of others they care about, and even if they feel they will not be immediately harmed by the merger, they worry about what further changes it might precipitate. In the absence of information, they are likely to expect the worst, and they may believe that leaders are withholding information. As such, even though top management doesn't yet ""know everything,"" team leaders should use whatever information they may have - however tentative and incomplete -- to do all they can to clarify uncertainties. They should communicate to employees what they do and don't know at this point, and they should do all it can to say all they can about what things will not change. For example, if top management has told team leaders that a plant will not close or that the company headquarters will remain in their current location that is in itself valuable information. There may, of course, be instances in which upper management and perhaps even team leaders cannot provide certain types of information since it would compromise negotiations or have other unacceptable consequences. If so, employees should be informed of the reasons for not passing on the information. In times of great stress and uncertainty, leaders must do three things: communicate, communicate, and communicate.

In Anticipation of a Pending Merger Between Their Firm and Another