Suchergebnisse

In this study, I compare the perceptions of managers who have been transferred, either with a promotion or laterally, and managers who remained in the same job. The participants were 329 management-level employees of two departments in the Canadian federal government. Managers who were laterally transferred had less positive perceptions of the performance and cohesiveness of the new work group they were supervising and reported worse overall health and more health symptoms than managers who had not been transferred. Laterally transferred managers also perceived receiving significantly less recognition and reported worse overall health than managers whose transfer involved a promotion. There were no significant differences between managers who had a promotional transfer and managers who were not transferred. The findings indicate that lateral transfers should be accompanied by support efforts designed to promote better adjustment to the transfer.

This longitudinal panel study examined job transfers in a federal government department undergoing major downsizing. Data were collected during the initial stages of the downsizing (T1), 1 year later (T2), and 1 year after that (T3). The 170 participants included those who were promoted and those who were laterally transferred between T2 and T3 as well as those who remained in the same job. Except for avoidance coping, there were no significant differences among the three groups at T1. At T3, the promoted group reported significantly higher future career success expectancy, job security, coping effectiveness, and procedural justice than the laterally transferred group. Because similar differences occurred before any job transfers, the differences at T3 cannot be attributed to the job transfer itself, but rather to differences that emerged between T1 and T2 in how those who were subsequently promoted appraised and coped with the downsizing and their coping resources.

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of downsizing on 82 managers in a federal government department over a 2‐year period and identifies individual characteristics and support resources that facilitate adaptation to downsizing. Managers reported a significant decrease in their job performance and organizational commitment. However, the perceived threat of job loss actually declined over time. Organizational morale and trust remained fairly stable, but the initial levels for both variables were quite low. Those managers who were optimistic, had a high future success expectancy and a high tolerance for ambiguity, were more open towards change, and perceived greater support were less negatively affected by the downsizing than those who lacked these resources. The implications of these findings are discussed.RésuméLe présent article examine l'effet de la réduction des effectifs éprouvé au cours de 2 ans par 82 cadres d'un ministère du gouvernement fédéral;il identifie des traits individuels et des ressources de soutien qui facilitent l'adaptation à cette réduction. Les cadres ont signalé une baisse significative de leur rendement au travail et de leur engagement envers l'organisation; par contre, la peur de perdre leur emploi a diminué avec le temps. Le moral organisationnel et la confiance sont restés assez stables, il faut toutefois signaler que les niveaux de départ de ces deux variables étaient très bas. Les cadres optimistes et confiants de leur avenir, qui toléraient bien l'ambiguïté,étaient plus ouverts aux changements, et trouvaient qu'ils étaient bien soutenus, étaient affectés par les réductions d'une façon moins négative que ceux à qui ces ressources manquaient. Nous discutons la portée de ces constatations.

AbstractThis study investigated how management and non‐management survivors reacted to a workforce reduction involving across‐the‐board permanent layoffs. The participants included 50 supervisors and two groups of technicians (n=200) employed in a telecommunications company. Supervisors were significantly more likely to perceive the company's reason for the cutbacks as fair, and reported greater job security and higher organizational commitment than did the technicians. However, there were significant differences between the two groups of technicians in perceived fairness of the distribution of the layoffs, action coping, and organizational morale. The results suggest that researchers investigating survivors' reactions need to examine differences within as well as across occupational levels.RésuméCette étude a examiné la réaction des survivants administratifs et non‐administratifs à une réduction de personnel impliquant des licenciements permanents à tous les niveaux. Les participants étaient composés de cinquante contrôleurs et de deux groupes detechniciens (n=200) employés par une compagnie de télécommunications. La probabilité de percevoir la rationalisation des réductions comme étant juste et de ressentir plus de sécurité au travail ainsi qu'un sentiment d'appartenance à l'organisation était considérablement plus élevée chez les contrôleurs que chez les techniciens. Cependant, des différences significatives existaient entre les deux groupes de techniciens au sujet de l'équité perçue concernant la distribution des licenciements, le traitement actif et la morale organisationnelle. Les résultats suggèrent que les chercheurs enquêtant sur la réaction de survivants doivent examiner les différences à l'intérieur ainsi que parmi les rangs professionnels.

AbstractWe drew from the literature on positive organizational behaviour (Luthans & Youssef, 2007) to test a process model relating generalized optimism (Carver & Scheier, 1999) to the cognitions, affect, and behaviour of 237 Canadian federal government managers during and following a major organizational downsizing. Our data supported a model in which generalized optimism measured 18 months prior to the downsizing (T1) associated positively with managers' cognitions, attitudes, job performance, and self‐reported coping effectiveness measured 12 months postdownsizing (T3). Analyses suggested that some of these associations were partially mediated by a positive thinking coping strategy and expectations for future career and job success reported during the downsizing (T2). We advocate for more research that draws from the positive organizational behaviour literature to study the effects of downsizing on survivors. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Upper-level HR managers in 493 public and private sector organizations provided information about the extent to which their organization is actively engaging in HR activities directed at recruiting and retaining older managerial and professional employees. Currently, 50 percent or more of the organizations are not engaging in 14 of the 20 HR practices although greater use of these practices is expected in the future. Public sector and larger organizations were more likely to be engaging in practices designed to meet the challenge of the aging workforce than private sector and smaller organizations.

PurposeThis study aims to employ a resource‐oriented theoretical perspective to examine retirees' desire to return to their former organization.Design/methodology/approachUsing a cross‐sectional field study design, data were collected from 243 retirees under 65 years of age who had been retired from a career job less than ten years.FindingsRegression results indicate that retirees who had experienced financial and pervasive role loss as well as retirees who perceived a higher fit with their former organization and the availability of desired job role options expressed significantly greater interest in returning. Retirees who experienced gains in leaving work as well as gains in their life satisfaction following retirement reported significantly less interest in returning to their former organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross‐sectional design and self‐report data create a potential for bias. Even though the findings are based on respondents' "interest" in returning to their former organization, it is not known if they actually did return.Practical implicationsPrograms should focus on creating an environment that values older workers, and provides them with opportunities such as mentoring other workers.Social implicationsPolicy changes are needed to ensure that returning to work following retirement results in resource gains and not resource losses.Originality/valueThis study uses resource theory with a diverse sample of retirees and considers their desire to return to their original employers, thus adding value to human resources and management who wish to retain or re‐engage their own knowledgeable retirees.