Reactions of Older Employees to Organizational Downsizing: The Role of Gender, Job Level, and Time
Abstract
This panel study examined the reactions of 187 federal government employees aged 45 and older during the initial phase of a large-scale downsizing and 20 months later. There were few significant differences in the reactions of older men and women. Respondents in management positions reported significantly more positive attitudes toward their job and the organization than did respondents in nonmanagement jobs. Compared with the initial phase of the downsizing, respondents reported a significant decrease in commitment to the organization 20 months later. For the two dimensions of job insecurity, perceived threat of job loss decreased, whereas sense of powerlessness over decisions affecting the future of one's job increased. A major area of concern for management is the low level of organizational trust and morale reported by the respondents at both time periods.
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The Job Insecurity measure was robust (α = 0.82).
“The present study found this measure to be robust (α = 0.82).”
From Smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and algorithms (STARA): employees' perceptions of our future workplace (2018) · cites this paper as Armstrong-Stassen (2001)
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Brougham, D., & Haar, J. (2018) · Journal of Management & Organization · doi:10.1017/jmo.2016.55 · Cited by 1,117 · see citing works
- Authors
- Armstrong-Stassen, M.
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2001-07-01
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- P234-P243
- ISSN
- 1079-5014 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-5368
- OpenAlex
- W2113698416
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series B (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Johns Hopkins University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Downsizing and Restructuring
- Social Sciences › Demography › Retirement, Disability, and Employment
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- organizational downsizing, older workers, federal employees, gender differences, job level, organizational commitment, job insecurity, powerlessness, organizational trust, morale, employee attitudes, management positions
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Analysis of Variance, Burnout, Professional, Employment, Female, Humans, Job Satisfaction, Male, Middle Aged, Organizational Innovation, Sex Characteristics, Time Factors
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