Business psychologist on mergers: "It's an extremely difficult situation to be in"
When a merger is announced, employees are completely unprepared. They have no idea what the consequences will be for them. So says business psychologist Søren Braskov.
Many unknown factors
As mergers mushroom from the top management layers, there are a multitude of unknown factors – and hardly anything else – for the employees.
"It's an extremely difficult situation to be in owing to all the uncertainty. The employees are of course able to figure out that changes will come and certain tasks will be merged as double work makes no sense. But what that means for the individual employee – they don't know and won't be able to find out for some time."
In addition, many are extremely loyal to their workplace. Some will feel tricked by their employer and have concerns about the culture that will dominate after the merger.
"There will often be different cultures and management styles, and to a greater or lesser extent, they have to be combined. It can be hard to predict which elements will endure. And this is a cause for speculation for many people."
A new chance
There will also be those who see it as an exciting period awaiting them:
"There are bound to be people who are able to see the chances and opportunities arising from these processes. But for the vast majority, it will be associated with too much uncertainty for them to feel comfortable."
Subject to uncertainty is also the location of the workplace for the individual employees in the long term.
"In some situations, when an organisation is put under pressure by the announcement of a merger, a great sense of unity arises. But unfortunately, it may also divide employee groups, partly because there will be different approaches to how positive or concerned you should be. It could also be about age and function and how much know-how you have."
Short-term horizon
The business psychologist recommends employees to try and come to terms with a short-term horizon.
"It's difficult because people like safety. Many bank employees probably also appreciate stability and a long-term horizon," says Søren Braskov.
At the same time, they have to try to think strategically – what are the opportunities for them in the new set-up? Who could they talk about it with? A suggestion could be your immediate manager or your union representative.
"But they have to try to embrace it by taking the issue bit by bit and calming themselves down by the facts. And the facts are that nothing is happening here and now, and no one knows how it'll end."