Organizational Communication Commons^™

Organizational Downsizing During An Economic Crisis: Survivors’ And Victims’ Perspectives, Roselie Mcdevitt, Catherine Giapponi, Deborah M. Houston

Organization Management Journal

The recession that began in 2007 resulted in organizational retrenchment strategies focused on workforce reductions. In order to successfully emerge from this crisis and sustain long-term viability for their organizations, managers needed to reengage surviving employees and minimize the potential for retaliatory behavior by the victims of the downsizing activities. An understanding of the perceptions of both survivors and victims is critical when managers implement downsizing and recovery strategies. The psychological contract and attribution theory were used to examine employee perceptions post downsizing. The variables of interest in this study include employee perceptions related to organizational communication; understanding and agreement …