When workers reach this level of negativity, they can approach the phenomenon of “quitting in place”—workers
continue coming to work but are disengaged and have moved on from the workplace in their minds. When
this occurs, it isn’t surprising that their business performance levels are at their lowest. At this low point in
business performance, there are three possible outcomes: The workers will recognize that this situation is
not ideal for them, and they will quit; they will get on board with the initiative, and an improvement in business
performance will begin; or they may need to be let go. If the worker remains in place and still refuses to embrace
the change, that individual will need to be let go or moved to a different area of the business. While the
decision-making process associated with firing and displacing employees is outside of the scope of this SMA,
it’s important to realize that cost savings via job elimination can be a reality, especially in a world of increasing
technology and automation. The change management discussed in this SMA focuses on the workers who
will remain employed throughout the course of the implementation and will need to be trained on the new
system, but it is worth noting that for those employees who will be laid off or redeployed to other areas of the
business, transparency and open communication about new positions and changed job mappings are vital.