There is a widely held belief that a large layoff will increase the stock price of a corporation.
The myth goes like this: The chief executive officer is under fire for the stuck or declining price of the stock. Therefore, the next move is to announce a major reduction-in-force. That will give the stock price an uptick.
Consequently, of course, a lot of human beings lose their jobs.
Well, research blows that myth up.
In the March 2018 book "Dying For A Paycheck," Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Jeffrey Pfeffer provides the details. That book is a manifesto against the current plight of workers around the world. Pfeffer documents how everything from overwork to chronic job security is literally killing workers.
Those premature deaths include suicides. More often, they indirectly occur through substance abuse and pushing the human body beyond the limit. Those scenarios are familiar in the legal sector.
As for corporations' stock prices, in the chapter "Layoffs and Economic Insecurity," Pfeffer states:
"The evidence strongly suggests that layoff announcements have at least a neutral but most frequently a negative effect on stock price and shareholder returns."
The details are presented on pages 83 and 84.
Meanwhile, losing a job represents a tragedy for a human being, the family, small businesses in the area, and overall well-being of a community.
In coaching those laid off who are over-50, I also have observed a hardening of the soul.
Hard work, loyalty, and enthusiasm have not paid off. Slowly or quickly what I label The Four Monsters of the Mind can overwhelm those displaced workers who are aging. Here, free to download, is the book I published on that.
Previously, Pfeffer's signature had been his books on power. He had been among the thought leaders who outed how much power is part of how every institution operates. No, it's not just an abstraction studied by the students of Machiavelli.
Now, Pfeffer had lent his credentials to fight for a fair deal for the global working man and woman. Increasingly, that includes the contract employee or gig worker. In the U.S., he could be the Franklin D. Roosevelt of the 21st century. And his publications the non-fiction version of Charles Dickens' novels about the Industrial Age.
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the new kind of hero for these difficult times in which to earn a living. Too many have already died for a paycheck. Or, on the way there.
Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.
For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.
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