The present review presents an overview of published longitudinal empirical research on the impact of restructuring on employee well-being. We investigated whether restructuring with staff reductions impacts differently on worker well-being than restructuring without staff reductions and the differences between short and longer term effects of restructuring. Furthermore, we investigated the mechanisms that explain these well-being effects. We conducted a literature search focusing on longitudinal, peer reviewed, English-written studies from the period 2000-2012. Thirty-nine papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. We found that restructuring events, with and without staff reductions, mainly have a negative impact on the well-being of employees. The majority of studies showed negative changes over time, on the short and longer term. Some groups of workers reacted less negative. For example workers with a high organisational status before restructuring and workers with a change in workgroup. Variables that intervened in the relationship between restructuring and well-being were physical demands, job control, communication, provision of information, training, procedural justice, job insecurity and change acceptance. Low income employees were identified as a possible vulnerable group. More high quality longitudinal research is needed to get more insight in the impact of restructuring over time and the intervening variables

The predictors of work disability vary by age and diagnosis. These results help target age-specific measures for the prevention of permanent work disability.

Purpose – Leadership behaviours are shown to contribute to subordinate well-being. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a 7.5-day personal growth-orientated leadership intervention among line supervisors on subordinate well-being at work in a public sector construction organization. Design/methodology/approach – A quasi-experimental design was applied to investigate the effects on the subordinates’ perceptions of the psychosocial work environment, leadership, and well-being. The intervention group comprised the subordinates (n=49) of the leadership intervention units and the control group comprised the subordinates (n=96) of the non-participating units. Data were collected with pre- and post-measurement surveys and analysed with repeated measures ANCOVA. Findings – The intervention improved the flow of information after adjusting for the subordinates’ level of participation in the organizational stress management programme and background variables. The subordinates’ perception of leadership or of their own well-being did not improve compared to the control group. Research limitations/implications – More detailed and proximal outcome indicators are needed. Several measurements and a process evaluation of the implementation are recommended. Practical implications – Line supervisors need to be informed about the goals and methods of a personal growth intervention in order to encourage them to meet their strengths and limitations. The improvement of blue-collar subordinate well-being through leadership development might benefit from more practical training approaches. Originality/value – The personal growth approach to line supervisors’ development is rare. The effect of the development on subordinate well-being has not been investigated.

The identification of subgroups characterized by childhood circumstances and comorbidity may help planning of prevention and support practices for young adults with mental disorders and risk of work disability.

The global recession has forced the Finnish forest industry to carry out major restructuring activities. Employees have faced different kinds of restructuring, mainly aimed at reducing staff and production. Many studies have shown the negative consequences of restructuring on employee well-being by using negative, ill-health indicators. Our aim is to examine the extent to which change appraisal influences both the negative and positive aspects of work-related well-being among employees who continue working in the organization after the restructuring process. We also examine the role of different actors (top management, immediate supervisor, employees themselves) in how the change is appraised. The study investigated blue-collar employees working in the Finnish forest industry during a period of extensive transition (2008–2009). All six participating factories underwent restructuring between baseline and the follow-up survey (n=369). After adjustment for gender, age and baseline well-being, negative change appraisal increased the risk of experiencing more stress and less work enjoyment. Negative change appraisals thus also damaged the positive, motivational aspects of employee well-being. The results showed the importance of offering employees the opportunity to participate in the planning of changes related to their work as regards positive change appraisal.