Survivors' Reactions to a Workforce Reduction: A Comparison of Blue-Collar Workers and Their Supervisors

Perhaps the most dramatic shift in the 1990s has been the downsizing of management-level employees in unprecedented numbers. Radigan (1990) noted that until recently management-level employees were "a protected class with virtual job security. When their companies suffered downturns, it was the blue-collar workers, not the managers, who lost their jobs" (p. 16). Mishel and Podgursky (1988) reported that although blue-collar workers still show the highest rate of displacement, white-collar workers are also experiencing a high incidence of job loss. In fact, Mishel (cited in Koretz, 1992) noted that white-collar workers have been feeling the brunt of job displacement for the first time in history. Capelli (1992) found that, in proportion to other employees, managers are actually more vulnerable to job displacement. According to Cameron, Freeman, and Mishra (1991), more than 85% of Fortune 1000 companies reduced their white-collar workforce between 1987 and 1991, affecting more than five million jobs. Despite these cutbacks among white-collar managers and professionals, Koretz (1992) contended that "there's a noticeable blue ring around the so-called white-collar recession" (p. 20). Thus, although the proportion of white-collar displacements has increased dramatically, the actual numbers of displaced blue-collar workers remains considerably higher. Clearly, it is still the blue-collar workers who are being cut in large numbers from companies' payrolls. It is only recently that researchers have begun to examine the reactions of those employees who remain in the organization, the survivors, to the layoff of coworkers (Brockner, 1988). There is little empirical evidence to indicate how management-level survivors react to a workforce reduction compared to blue-collar survivors. Both groups could react similarly and thus reinforce each other's attitudes and behaviour, or they could respond differently and thereby engender conflicting patterns of behavior (Sutton & D'Aunno, 1989). Sutton and D'Aunno (1989) argue that this is an issue which needs to be addressed by researchers. The purpose of the present study was to explore the reactions of management-level and blue-collar survivors to a workforce reduction. Specifically, this study compared the reactions of first-level supervisors with the reactions of technical workers to a recent reduction in force involving across-the-board permanent layoffs. It should be noted that, because of the self-report nature of the data, the reactions discussed in this paper actually reflect survivors' perceptions of how they reacted to the workforce reduction. This study was exploratory in nature because of the lack of empirical research on management/non-management reactions to workforce reduction. Only one other study, Esty (1984), investigated the reactions of managers and blue-collar workers in a downsizing situation. Esty found significant differences on a number of perceptual and attitudinal variables between managers and production workers in growing and stable organizations, compared with managers and production workers in contracting (workforce reduction of 8% or more) organizations. However, the focus of Esty's study was the comparison of managers and production workers across the three types of organizations, not within the same organization. The present study investigated whether or not the occupational level of the layoff survivors would influence their perceptions of fairness and job security, how they coped with the cutbacks, and the effect on organization-related outcomes (organizational morale, organizational commitment, and trust in the organization). The study also provided the opportunity to examine whether there were differences within an occupational level as well as between occupational levels. There is evidence that perceived injustice and job insecurity are fundamental reactions to layoffs, and a major source of stress (Brockner, 1988; Davy, Kinicki, & Scheck, 1991). …