ABSTRACT
Through a review of the literature on job loss and unemployment, this chapter discusses some of the common reactions to redundancy experienced by those directly affected and by the survivors of redundancy programmes. It also identifies some implications for the provision of outplacement counselling to redundant workers and for providing counselling and support to those remaining in the organization. Although there is some longitudinal evidence that psychological distress lessens with unemployment duration, presumably as individuals adapt to the unemployed role. Jahoda's 'deprivation theory' suggests that, in addition to its function of providing income, work has five 'latent' functions which are psychologically beneficial in that they keep us in touch with reality. As an alternative, Fryer developed 'agency restriction theory', which suggests that unemployment has negative consequences because it restricts personal agency. Family flexibility seemed to be the most important, but the small female sample did not permit any firm conclusions.
