The Experience and Practice of Social Support during Major Organizational Changes: The Case of the Bank Collapse in Iceland in 2008

Abstract

This study explored how Icelandic bank employees perceived and practiced social support in the wake of the economic crisis when the banks suddenly collapsed in 2008. Drawing on 20 interviews with bank employees, it was found that during stressful situations, employees referred to social support as one of the most important factors in overcoming the changes. The study points toward a complex picture of social support practices during organizational changes and underlines the importance of distinguishing between both nature and source of the social support in practice and in research.

Short-time Work, Redundancies, and Changing Work Environment: The Hospitality Sector During COVID-19

“…The latter group is labeled 'endurers' and faces redundancy of role (McLachlan et al 2021). Research has found that the remaining employees with changed work content experience less fear of losing their job compared to the remaining employees with unchanged work content (Hellgren et al 2005); however, there is a greater risk of psychological distress (Snorradóttir et al 2016), health-related issues, increased levels of stress, and less job satisfaction (Hellgren et al 2005), which indicates that different strategies may be needed for the remaining employees -perhaps particularly if the employees have reduced working hours. Moreover, recent research in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis has identified a new group of affected employees -labeled semisurvivors -who were first laid-off and then later rehired often with less favorable work conditions, wages, and benefits, and consequently, experienced a negative impact of both being a victim and a survivor (Stevens 2022, p. 43).…”