Boredworkers.com

So there are rumours that the company you’re working for is going to be taken over by a bigger fish but there’s still nothing official. The papers published a speculative article about the merger and all the signal flags start to go up. Like it or not, mergers and acquisitions happen on a daily basis. Like websites built to be sold, there are companies whose sole purpose of existence is to be taken over by a larger entity. If you ever find yourself working for such a company, being bought over may be good or bad depending on the situation. Should you panic? Or does life just go on?

When mergers happen, things are likely to change, most notably the company structure and policies. That means as a staff, you’ll need to learn up new ways of doing business. On the side, you may also wind up with better benefits. If the company that is acquiring yours is a major player, chances are you’ll be laughing your way to the bank. However, there’s always the fear of layoffs and paycuts.

Similarly, there’s also the chance that after a while, the acquiring company may find itself in a situation where it is no longer profitable to be in the market. In such a case, another sale is probably just around the corner. Worse case is liquidation.

Laws dictate that until a deal is sealed, no one is to know about what is going on. Everyone is informed publicly through a press release, including the staff. This is to avoid any underhanded speculations and insider trading. As an employee, you may feel slighted that your company deemed it fit not to inform you of something as important as a merger that may directly impact your working life. However, if you think about it, the move is a logical one. Besides, it isn’t really quite as big a deal as you might like to think.

While rumours are flying, the best approach is simply to bunker down, watch the movie In Good Company, continue doing what you were paid to do, and ride out the wave. No sense speculating on what is going to happen or worrying yourself silly whether or not you’ll have a job tomorrow. If it happens, it happens. Heck, you may even come out tops.