With its decision to lower the requirements for short-time working, the German government has given many companies significant leeway in the current economic climate. Employment agencies are already registering a record increase in applications for short-time work compensation, but what may be a sensible step from a business perspective isn’t necessarily also understood as such by employees. Given the growing uncertainty of many employees, short-time work should be introduced in a sensitive and transparent manner.
Below, we consider five communication errors with which management can endanger trust by unnecessarily upsetting employees.