Survivor reactions to organizational downsizing: Does time ease the pain?

Abstract

The present study used work role transitions theory as a guiding framework for examining changes in survivors' attitudes following an organizational downsizing. A total of 106 managers experiencing a downsizing provided data regarding organizational commitment, turnover intentions, job involvement, role clarity, role overload, satisfaction with top management, and satisfaction with job security at three different times. Although the results generally indicated that downsizing had a significant impact on work attitudes, that the impact varied over time, and that the initial impact was generally negative; different patterns of results among the job attitudes studied were also observed. For example, satisfaction with top management increased across time, while job involvement decreased. Findings also indicated that changes in role clarity, role overload, satisfaction with top management, and satisfaction with job security were significantly related to changes in organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Changes in job involvement also moderated several relationships such that there was a stronger relationship between the independent variable and the outcome variable when job involvement was higher than when job involvement was lower. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

How mass layoffs are related to lower job performance and OCB among surviving employees in Chile: an investigation of the essential role of psychological contract

“…We focused on the time since the last mass layoff, as time has been referred to as the key indicator for the employee responses to mass layoffs (Allen et al, 2001;Datta et al, 2010). The questionnaire included a number of questions regarding to mass layoffs and whether employees had personal experiences with being laid off.…”

“…However, there is also an abundance of research that shows negative effects on survivors of layoffs (e.g., Allen, Freeman, Russell, Reizenstein, & Rentz, 2001;Brockner et al, 2004;Grunberg et al, 2000;Kalimo, Taris, & Schaufeli, 2003). It has been proposed that mass layoffs in organizations have profound psychological effects on employees who stay in the organization, the so-called survivors.…”

“…In the current study we operationalize mass layoffs as the time since employees last experienced a mass layoff. The study from Allen et al (2001) showed that it was especially the time that passed since the mass layoff that determined how satisfied and involved employees were in their jobs.…”

“…In line with these studies, we focus on the role of time passed since the last mass layoff. Research shows that time is an important aspect of mass layoffs: the more recent a layoff has been, the greater the impact on employees and the attitudes they hold towards their organization (Allen et al, 2001;Kalimo et al, 2003). Theoretically, when mass layoffs have recently taken place in an organization, employees are expected to be influenced by those layoffs more profoundly.…”

“…Conversely, when there has been a long time since the last mass layoff in a company, employees may feel less threatened by the likelihood of losing their jobs (Allen et al 2001). Moreover, when organizations did not engage in mass layoffs during the recent global economic crisis, employees will feel more secure about their jobs in the organization and trust their organization to survive during harsh economic times.…”