Hiring can be slow
Leadership can take themselves too seriously. This takes the fun out of coming to work.
We recently had layoffs. It was understandable because of the pandemic, only a small % were actually laid off. I used to think very highly of leadership until it was disclosed by the CEO during a town hall after the layoffs that the executive team has a bonus incentive. So not only did the exec team not take a pay cut, but they also have an end of year bonus they are incentivized to achieve. The exec team stands to profit from laying people off without putting their teams first. Every business in the news has noted that execs were taking pay cuts. Why didn't our do the same? Using your bonuses and equity doesn't seem like the morally right answer. You can let people go compassionately, but this response does not seem like the right answer. Lower level employees lost their jobs that potentially could have been saved if execs took a team first approach. A small pay cut across the business could have saved all those jobs. Many employees aren’t happy about this news. Execs will get bonuses and stand to gain more financially and the rest of the company will not even get a pay raise from this pandemic. Does the rest of the company get bonuses by helping the exec team navigate this crisis? If it doesn’t benefit the exec team, the employees won’t benefit either was how the message was perceived.