No employer likes having to cut staff, and most avoid doing so whenever possible. Proof of that is that despite lingering fears of possible economic slowing, businesses have thus far largely avoided big headcount reductions. But a new survey offers an important reminder to companies that may be forced to undertake future layoffs: the importance of retraining remaining staff to take on the duties of their former colleagues.

Plunging workforce morale and staff effectiveness are the two major consequences of employers failing to provide post-layoff support, according to a new survey by learning engagement platform Kahoot! Its poll of 1,064 full-time U.S. workers whose companies underwent at least one staff cut during the previous year offered insights into employee challenges and expectations in the wake of headcount reductions. Not only did over 60 percent of respondents say they were told to assume tasks of departed colleagues, but a majority also said they weren’t offered any training to handle those new responsibilities.

That mismatch led a majority of respondents to admit they made costly mistakes as a result, and blame that lack of support for their rising desire to quit and find new work elsewhere.

“Surviving a layoff doesn’t mean surviving the impact,” said Eilert Hanoa, CEO of Kahoot!. “When companies cut headcount without supporting those who remain, they are not just risking morale and employee engagement. They are risking mistakes, missed opportunities, and lost talent. The knowledge that left with those layoffs is not easily replaced. Without proper re-onboarding, what is lost can ripple across the entire organization.”

The survey found over 60 percent of what Kahoot! calls “layoff survivors” reported being assigned workloads of departed colleagues within the first week of their exit. Yet 73 percent of respondents also complained they hadn’t received structured training or orientation to help them assume their new responsibilities. One result of that was 65 percent of participants said they’d make costly mistakes due to being unfamiliar or unprepared to handle those inherited tasks.

As a result, 70 percent of respondents said they wished they’d been offered a “re-onboarding program” that they believe would have allowed them to make the post-layoff transition more smoothly, and with less anxiety. Only 27 percent of participants reported receiving that kind of instruction.

Nearly half of the total said increased workloads combined with the absence of support from management caused workplace morale to decline.

In addition to the post-layoff mistakes that eroded their confidence, workers’ happiness was also undercut by having to spend extra hours figuring out how to deal with their new responsibilities. Nearly 85 percent of survey participants said they had to set aside extra time during the workday to handle those tasks, with about a quarter saying that cost them more than 4 hours per week until they got comfortable with them.

Fifty-five percent of participants said they educated themselves about those added duties by soliciting instruction from peers, while 44 percent relied on trial and error. This being the age of social media, meanwhile, contributed to 28 percent of respondents saying they turned to YouTube or other platforms for guidance.

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