Executive Actions For Managing Human Resources Before And After Acquisition

Whenever a young child who is attached to her mother is separated from her, she shows distress-and should the child be placed in a new environment, the distress is likely to intensify. The way the child behaves in this situation will follow a distinct pattern: At first she protests vigorously and tries by all possible means to recover her mother. Later, she seems to despair of getting her mother back, but nevertheless remains preoccupied with her. Finally, the child seems to lose interest and becomes emotionally detached from the mother.'2 What is happening to thousands of employees in acquired firms is similar to the loss of attachment experienced by the child. Employees attach themselves to organizations, jobs, coworkers, work routines, the application of personal skills, and performance and career goals. Like the child, many employees involved in acquisitions experience a powerful sense of loss when strong attachments are destroyed or changed.3 Loss is a common life process. Some losses are more permanent than others; for example, the loss that one experiences when a son leaves for college is more temporary than that experienced when losing a job. Each loss, however, involves a period of immediate grief, a period of adjustment to the loss, and a period that heralds the beginning of the next cycle in life.4 Elisabeth Kiubler-Ross defines death or loss in terms of stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance." Kilbler-Ross's five-stage model and the concept of loss of attachment served as the theoretical underpinnings for our examination of the psychological and behavioral responses of employees of acquired firms. The loss of an organization, a job, a coworker, or a work routine, like the loss of a mother figure, a friend, or relative, can be disruptive and painful. Executives and consultants responsible for structuring acquisitions have shown creative expertise in putting together the legal and financial aspects of deals." Unfortunately, they have not exhibited corresponding creativity and expertise in understanding and dealing with the psychological trauma that these forms of corporate growth create for employees; continued failure to do so will likely undermine the success of an acquisition venture. Can managers in acquired firms be better prepared to deal with the loss of attachment that many employees experience in anticipation and after a deal is consummated? We believe that once managers become aware of the power of loss of attachment, they will want to help employees avoid many of the negative consequences of that loss. In this article we will discuss the implications of the loss of attachment that is experienced by many employees in acquired firms. We studied individuals who remained with the acquired firm and those who lost their jobs. The research findings point to specific steps that managers can take to ease the loss of attachment and minimize the negative effects.