Nobody likes a recession. Employees get laid off. Budgets get cut. Customer relationships get strained. The organisation and its people feel the stress. For leaders, recessions are the crucible in which reputations are steeled or shattered. How leaders interact with their employees is critical to the outcome and, luckily, employees have been clear about what they want from their leaders.

Mostly, employees want to keep their jobs. A Gallup poll conducted at the turn of the year showed that 45 per cent of US workers believe they face a greater risk that their job will change or be eliminated. A survey sponsored by SkillSoft, the e-learning company, reported that almost a third (31 per cent) of UK workers fear redundancy in 2009.