Will Your Employer Try to Do a "Kingsley Napley?"

"Kingsley Napley has pulled off the difficult trick of telling its lawyers they’ve had a terrific year, but sadly there’s no money for bonuses, and now they should catch buses instead of cabs and stop wining and dining clients at fancy restaurants." - RollonFriday, June 23, 2023

It's not an overstatement that UK law firm Kingsley Napley had a "terrific year." Despite a tricky economy, its revenue increased 11%. That outdid the overall legal market by 4%.

But yet Kinsley Napley is imposing austerity on the workforce. And it will probably get away with it. And so might your own employer try that and the odds are the business could get away with it.

The dominant mindset in the workplace is fear. And that leads to risk-aversion. The Great Resgnation has shifted to The Great Stay. There is too much uncertainty, ranging from economic to technological, to change jobs or let go of a solid gig assignment. Capitalism is a brutal system so employers will exploit that compulsion by workers to struggle to just hold on to what they have. Or, assume they have. 

The reality is more like this: It is unlikely that how employees earn their living is all that secure. On Professional Anonymous Networks workers in myriad sectors share being blindsided by a layoff or even an outright firing. Some report that superiors had been informing them that they were doing fine.

Therefore we can anticipate more worker protests, more campaigns to unionize, more leaking to the media and more disengagement. Policy makers with power have to come up with a new kind of social contract between management and labor. 

2023. It’s the year of AI, along with uncertainty, inflation, war and more. Jane Genova provides you with a complimentary check-in for your organization’s communications and your own career. It’s free. Content-creation and coaching provided on a sliding-scale fee basis. (for appointments text 203-468-8570 or janegenova374@gmail.com)