According to a recent survey, the oldest people in society will be hit hardest by cuts in public spending – losing almost a sixth of their household income by 2014.
A study by Age UK shows that the average household with someone over 75 will lose £2,200 worth of public services a year by 2014, which represents about 14% of their household income. Even worse the poorest of the over-75s will lose a third of their income.
The findings, said the charity, show that old people will suffer the most from public spending cuts, "sparking new fears that far from being fair the coalition government's spending plans are in fact deeply regressive ."
Without wishing to detract from the impact of the cuts on elderly people this is just yet another article/report on public sector which neglects what is fundamentally the most important issue in the public sector today.
This is the way that survivors are dealt with in the change management issues facing public sector.
With my experience of dealing with redundancies and change management programmes, here are three key observations.
1. Survivors of downsizing organisations suffer just as much as those who are made redundant. They suffer as they perceive themselves stuck in a relationship with an organisation that they do not trust. This does not detract from the trauma of losing a job. It merely states that attention should be focused on the survivors in the public sector.
2. The managers within the changed organisation also suffer when there are cuts. Their supposedly more important status is compounded by a series of dilemmas namely are they an axe wielding warrior or a caring trustworthy leader? How can they be agents of organisational healing if they themselves are not on an even keel?
3. The downsized organisation suffers if survivors are not managed effectively. Dealing with organisations which need to be reduced takes careful planning for survivor’s wellbeing. It cannot be an afterthought or to be ignored as is often the case.
If attention is focused purely on resisting redundancies or focusing on what is going to be lost as a service, how can any thought be given to the survivors of the forthcoming changes in the public sector? Remember these are the key people who will deal with the public sector after the culls have been made.
Justin Patten, Change Management Consultant