Effects of layoff victims' justice reactions and emotional responses on attitudes toward their previous employer

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper's aim is to study a neglected research outcome within the last ten years, i.e. the impact of unemployment on the willingness of those laid off (victims) to endorse their previous employer to others. Design/methodology/approach -A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an on-line survey investigating the impact of personal background variables, organizational background variables and layoff treatment variables on their willingness to endorse their previous employer. Findings -As expected, the perceived legitimacy of closure/procedural justice explained willingness to endorse. It was also found that higher perceived distributive justice was related to willingness to endorse. Collectively both layoff treatment variables explained most of the endorsement variance. Length of unemployment was positively related to anger and depression, and anger and depression were each negatively related to previous employer endorsement. In addition, it was also found that an unexpected new outcome, potential rehire, emerged as related to but distinct from willingness to endorse. Supporting this distinctiveness, victims who were angrier about being unemployed were less likely to endorse their previous employer to others, but victims who were more depressed about being unemployed were willing to potentially reapply to their former employer. Practical implications -Study results reinforce the importance of perceived justice affecting not only layoff victims' previous employer endorsement but also their potential rehiring. Originality/value -A uniquely unemployed sample, primarily executives, middle managers and professional, salaried individuals, with most being longer-term unemployed, was utilized. There was also a stronger measure of distributive justice. Potential rehire emerged as a distinct outcome from willingness to endorse previous employer.

Understanding the determinants of well-being and organizational attitudes during a plant closure: A Swedish case study

“…A main finding from this study, consistent with previous research on plant closures, was that closure management in terms of informational justice and severance package satisfaction mattered for attitudes towards the closing organization (for similar conclusions, see, for example, Blau et al, 2012; Butler et al, 2009). Informational justice was the more prominent predictor compared to severance package satisfaction, and as has been found in earlier research (cf.…”

“…However, the cross-sectional study provides us with an indication that there are associations between the study variables as early as half a year and up to a year before actual job loss. Also, this study is one of the few to be carried out before the onset of job loss, which provides important insights for the following process and outcome of re-employment success (Blau et al, 2012).…”

“…Furthermore, only subjective ratings were collected, which may increase common method variances (Campbell and Fiske, 1959). However, this study seeks to understand workers’ own perceptions of closure management in relation to their own resources and barriers, well-being and attitudes towards their employer, and evidence from the few earlier studies on workers going through plant closure shows that these perceptions are strong predictors even for re-employment success and length of unemployment (Blau et al, 2012). Undoubtedly, however, this research could be further strengthened if objective data in terms of actual turnover, productivity or health status could be provided.…”

Prototypical supervisors shape lay‐off victims’ experiences of top management justice and organizational support

“…Taking steps to foster favourable perceptions among lay‐off victims has become more important than ever before as people in today's global, digitalized, society have greater opportunity to share their experiences of justice or injustice through social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and a range of ‘rate your employer’ websites (e.g., glassdoor.com; Blau, Petrucci, & McClendon, ). Positive or negative treatment experienced by lay‐off victims may significantly affect ‘surviving’ employees (Kets de Vries & Balazs, ) as well as a company's reputation in the eyes of potential new employees and clients.…”

“…For example, Pugh, Skarlicki, and Passell () showed that employees’ assessments of the psychological contract violation following a lay‐off decreased employees’ trust in their new employer and increased their cynicism at their new job (see also Sennett, ). Other studies (e.g., Blau et al ., ; Wanberg, Gavin, & Bunce, ) have shown that victims’ appreciation of explanations of how and why lay‐offs were conducted were positively associated with their willingness to endorse, and negatively associated with their desire to sue, a previous employer (see also Erkama & Vaara, ). It has also been shown that organizational fairness at the time of lay‐offs is related to wrongful termination complaints (Lind, Greenberg, Scott, & Welchans, ), and that among lay‐off victims perceived organizational justice and POS are mutually related (Naumann, Bennett, Bies, & Martin, ).…”