The Interactive Effects of Job Insecurity and Organizational Cynicism on Work Effort Following a Layoff

Abstract

The widespread layoffs of the past 25 years have caused unparalleled levels of distrust and frustration in organizations. Organizational cynicism, which is frequently a manifestation of this pervasive phenomenon, has been shown to affect postlayoff attitudes and behaviors. It is generally assumed that postlayoff cynicism is predictive solely of dysfunctional outcomes. However, there is evidence suggesting that favorable consequences may emerge in some settings. In this exploratory study, the authors examined the postlayoff reactions of managerial employees who survived a corporate downsizing 1 month prior to the onset of the data collection. More specifically, they investigated the interactive effects of organizational cynicism and job insecurity on survivors' inclination to expend work effort. They hypothesized that cynics would report higher levels of work effort when faced with perceived job insecurity than non-cynics. Results provided support for these hypotheses, as work effort increased concurrently with cynicism for those perceiving an insecure work environment. Implication of these results for science and practice, strengths and limitations, and an agenda for future research are provided.

Supervision anxiety as a predictor for organizational cynism in teachers

“…It is known that organizational cynicism includes negative attitudes that an individual develops against the organization he or she is a member of and these attitudes are affected by many factors such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organizational culture, organizational support, organizational justice and burnout. In addition, stress that emerges due to various causes within an organization is also accepted as a source of organizational cynicism (Brandes et al, 2008;Nafei, 2013). On the other hand, because it affects one's professional status, supervision also causes teachers to be more anxious and supervision itself can be a cause of trauma for teachers.…”

“…Today the word cynicism bears a very different meaning and is defined as being averse to others, having distrust to others, feeling hopeless, being frustrated and being disappointed (Abraham, 2000;Brandes et al, 2008). When the definitions of cynicism in the literature are considered, Bernerth, Armenakis, Field and Walker (2007) define cynicism as the belief that principles such as rightness, honesty and sincerity are exploited for the benefit of organizational interest and that humans and their institutional organizations lack moral integrity.…”

Age Differences in Coping With Job Loss

“…The current demographic trend of the "graying" workforce (Barnes-Farrell, 2005) coupled with pervasive layoffs in today's unstable economy (Brandes et al, 2008) culminate in a pressing need to investigate coping with job loss from an aging perspective. As the author is unaware of any existing studies specifically examining coping with job loss in an aging context, one purpose of the current study is to fill that gap in the literature by examining how coping with job loss differs across the life-span.…”

The Effect of Democratic Leadership on Organizational Cynicism: A Study on Public Employees

“…Last of all, behavioral cynicism and it refers to an observable side of the organizational cynicism that includes employees' fierce criticisms of the organization such as belittlement, condescension, and denigration. The efficiency of the employees and organization both tend to decrease, because of the feeling alienated from an organization (Brandes et al, 2008).…”