Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2009
Abstract
The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was particularly devastating to the financial services industry. Poor performance, mergers/acquisitions, and massive layoffs were characteristics of the crisis. For example, Citigroup lost almost $19 billion in 2008 and market capitalization for the top three U.S. banks for the period January 1, 2007 through January 15, 2009 fell $514 billion or 75%. It was reported that since the beginning of the financial crisis in July 2007, banks had shed over 186,000 positions and thousands more remained tenuously employed as banks struggled to sustain themselves in an increasingly volatile environment. Studies during this period reflected a reduction in employee engagement. Literature suggests that organizational results are positively correlated with employee engagement. Little of the substantial extant literature on employee engagement focuses specifically on the financial industry and seemingly none on employee engagement at financial institutions during times of disastrous economic circumstances. We propose a qualitative inquiry involving semi-structured interviews with managers at three major US banks under duress during this period to understand the effects of the financial crisis on their "lived worlds" of work. The results may provide management guidance for successful organizational actions to maximize employee engagement and job performance under stress.
Keywords
financial crisis, employee engagement, resilience, emotional intelligence, culture, leadership, financial crisis, duress, financial services
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Weaver, Glen, "The Global Financial Meltdown: Is It a Recipe for Disaster To Employee Engagement?" (2009). Student Scholarship. 449.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/449