ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to summarize and integrate the most substantial findings on the impact of unemployment on work attitudes and behavior. According to conservation of resources theory, individuals strive to obtain, retain, foster and protect those things in life they centrally value – such as a secure and satisfying job. The chapter provides initial evidence of impaired work attitudes and behavior of the reemployed but further studies with a suitable design are nevertheless warranted. J. Zikic and U. C. Klehe suggest potentially positive outcomes of job loss for an individual's future career: focusing on specific career adaptability activities, their study found career planning and career exploration influenced reemployment quality. The chapter shows that unemployment indeed affects work attitudes and work behavior, for most of the reemployed negative effects of unemployment seem to vanish within a short period of time. Most studies in this field deal with psychological consequences such as self-confidence and coping, employability, networking, work attitudes and mental health.
