ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the effects of downsizing on worker stress, coping, survivor syndrome health, and job security in two sites that represent extremes of downsizing. One site (site B) had been engaged in repeated episodes of downsizing since 1992; the other site (site A) had a single downsizing episode the year before the data were collected. The two sites also differed in the type of layoffs that occurred. In site A, all the layoffs were voluntary (e.g., early retirement), while at site B, about half of the workers lost their jobs through involuntary layoffs. There are signs that research on the adverse health effects of downsizing on job survivors may be influencing corporate policies. A recent survey of 572 human resource professionals, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, found that most organizations in 2001 took preventive steps before resorting to layoffs.