You Worry That Lean Reduces Your Job Security.

There is a way people think known as an “availability heuristic.” That is a fancy way of saying that we judge what we think is going to happen by the easiest to remember examples. We’ve all heard about efforts to cut costs in other companies (or possibly even our own), and they all seem to include layoffs. It is no wonder that people hear about Lean and they leap to the conclusion that it mean jobs will be at risk.

The truth is that some companies that get into financial troubles do use layoffs. In some cases, they even resort to layoffs prior to starting on a Lean journey. But layoffs are actually contrary to Lean principles. Lean requires engagement, and you don’t get that when people fear for their livelihood.

Problem

You worry that Lean reduces your job security.

How this affects you

Worrying that you might be unemployed in the near future is very stressful. You know that in years past, productivity improvements have meant layoffs. Since Lean delivers even bigger gains, you likely have serious questions about job security.

Action to Take

Stop resisting Lean. More people probably lose their jobs for fighting Lean than supporting it.

Why This Works (Online Bonus)

A successful company knows it makes no sense to fire people who have worked hard to improve productivity. If a business decides to trim the ranks even once, why would workers ever engage in improvement efforts in the future? Who would work hard if the reward was a pink slip? Layoffs as a result of Lean are simply bad business. Employees will not engage in reducing waste if success means losing their jobs and not being able to put food on the table. Many companies explicitly state that nobody will get laid off due to process improvement efforts. Even if companies do make productivity gains faster than demand rises (i.e. they become overstaffed), they will likely avoid layoffs by just letting normal attrition reduce head count.

More information is available in the print version of “Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?”

Why this works

The Why this Works section is only available in print copies of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?