The New Deal in Employment

The New Deal is a series of federal and public program to relief, recovery and reform unemployment population. One important aspect of the employment relationship is psychological contract. It is an unwritten contract that historically guaranteed job security and rewards for loyal service between employers and employees to help ensure employee's performance and trust in the employer. Over the past decade, employees are unlikely that they will remain the same job position in an organization throughout their lifetime. Research has shown, employees that being laid off once, is 30% to 35% less likely to join a social organization. (e.g. church, community service.) This associated with their considerable pain, stress and hardship. In fact, many organizations try to avoid downsizing through their HR planning and development activities, to hire and develop internal human capital, and expend labour market by transfers and promotions.

Downsizing and "High Involvement"

General Motors have been giving more attention to high involvement human resources management, which is a commitment to human resources management practices that treat employee as assets. They had provide self-management team and elective hiring. However the result is not ideal, in study of Canadian workplace, the workplaces with a high involvement work management faced more downsizing problem, and had become a threat. High involvement human resources management had appear to be in competition, lead to lower levels of labour productivity following downsizing. This reduce the trust and commitment between employers and employee. In addition to General Motors, they should focusing on fair treatment, involvement and communication in order to achieve their objective.