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The impact of outplacement programs on reemployment criteria: A longitudinal study of displaced managers and executives
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinally the impact of outplacement support (e.g., counseling and psychological assessment) on several reemployment criteria. A sample of 1,880 managers and executives using the services of a large outplacement organization was examined. Controlling for past salary, severance, and demographics, results demonstrated that displaced managers and executives participating in programs that demonstrated higher levels of outplacement support took more time to find reemployment, had greater likelihood of reemployment, and had higher salaries in new jobs than individuals participating in programs with lower levels of outplacement support. Implications for organizations reducing their workforces are discussed.
... Kilcrease, 2013), empirical research is rare. Previous studies have mainly looked at the effectiveness of outplacement counselling for organizations (e.g., Doherty, Tyson, & Viney, 1993) and clients (Butterfield & Borgen, 2005;Westaby, 2004), but nearly nothing is known about outplacement counsellors as an occupational group. The present study therefore aimed at describing the outplacement counsellors' profession by examining their work and tasks on the one hand and their personal characteristics on the other, this means, their work values and personality traits. ...
... Nevertheless, the evidence so far can be described as suggesting at least some positive, encouraging effects for both the laid-off employees (i.e., clients) and the organizations offering outplacement counselling to their former employees. In a longitudinal study, Westaby (2004) found that more intense and longer lasting outplacement led to better client outcomes, such as an increased likelihood of reemployment. He also reported evidence that intensifying an outplacement counselling program led to higher salaries in the new job. ...
... Error bars represent standard errors of the means. help laid-off employees to cope with this major change, support them to find a new job, they therefore need various skills to fulfil their work properly (e.g., Aquilanti & Leroux, 1999;Kirk, 1994;Westaby, 2004). Thus, outplacement counselling involves not only the client and the organization, but the outplacement counsellor themselves. ...
Outplacement counsellors help people who have been laid off to find a new job, and their personal characteristics are likely to determine the quality of their services. This study examined 50 German outplacement counsellors and, to anchor the description, compared them to 52 psychotherapists, because both groups share similar job-related challenges (e.g., working with people in crisis situations). Although they differed in their educational background and career history, the results demonstrated that both groups set great value upon generativity values such as helping other people and passing on knowledge, and this was particularly true for outplacement counsellors who have been laid off themselves. Both groups were also more conscientious, agreeable, and
emotionally stable than a German norm sample, although outplacement counsellors were more extraverted and emotionally stable than psychotherapists. Furthermore, conscientiousness and neuroticism predicted indicators of career success for both groups. The findings have implications for the qualification of outplacement counsellors.
... To decrease the perceived injustice by redundancy, outplacement services are set in place. Such services are believed to increase re-employment success, workers earn higher wages [38] and report higher levels of wellbeing [39]. ...
... Evaluating restorative justice can thus be done by analysing the experiences and emotions of workers that received the support of the outplacement services. This is traditionally measured by assessing the outplacement quality of company-led outplacement services [38,39]. ...
In 2018, the European Union laid the foundation for a large-scale energy transition: away from fossil-based energy and towards renewable, sustainable energy solutions. A transition of such a large scale comes with challenges. To cope with the ills that an energy transition brings the European Commission proposed the Just Transition Fund in 2021. It serves as a financial buffer and provides strategic support for the successful energy transition to decrease injustices. Programs that aim at resolving transition justice issues are not new to Europe. The question, therefore, arises whether issues that arose or could not be solved with these past programs are addressed by the Just Transition Fund. To answer this question, three case studies that were supported by the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition were assessed with the just transition framework. This research shows that Just Transition Fund propagates many of the detected past justice issues. The most prominent justice issues found were distributive and procedural due to scarce funding and a lack of stakeholder participation.
... Una volta acquisiti gli strumenti, elaborate le proprie competenze, implementate le strategie di promozione e definita la strada della ricerca, il candidato entra nella fase della cosiddetta ricerca attiva. Questa fase è certamente delicata, perché il candidato deve gestire stress e frustrazioni generati dalle mancate risposte alle candidature, dall'attesa, dai rifiuti, dallo scorrere inesorabile del tempo (Westaby, 2004). Per supportare il candidato in questa fase, sempre più frequentemente le società di outplacement utilizzano gruppi di lavoro di diversa impostazione, dai metodi classici, a formule analoghe al mutuo-aiuto, passando per gruppi con metodologie esperienziali, a tecniche attive dove è possibile coniugare aspetti informativi, formativi, emotivi e di sviluppo del potenziale, quali lo psicodramma (Dotti, 2008). ...
... Il disegno quasi sperimentale è inficiato dal fatto che i soggetti scelgono spontaneamente che tipo di attività di outplacement seguire, senza un'attribuzione casuale dei partecipanti alle diverse forme di outplacement, non è possibile isolare l'effetto del trattamento stesso sulle vostre variabili di outcomes; gli esiti del processo possono essere dovuti a caratteristiche individuali che possono aver condizionato la scelta di partecipare ad un tipo di programma piuttosto che ad un altro. La spinta motivazionale e il supporto emotivo cambiano radicalmente l'approccio del candidato alla ricerca di un nuovo lavoro e contemporaneamente impattano sui risultati ottenuti (Westaby, 2004). Lo sviluppo della proattività e il sostegno all'autostima, la gestione della rabbia e dell'emotività sono aspetti che vanno tenuti in considerazione ancorché con le dovute cautele e limitazioni. ...
Active Training Techniques for outplacement: does group training improve placement? Employability should represent a target for consultants and job agencies with measurable and verifiable outcomes. Outplacement has to meet actual needs of workers and markets, taking into account a rigorous methodology. In order to verify the effect of different training techniques (individual outplacement, classic group activities and psychodramatic group activities) in terms of learning outcomes and employability, an exploratory study was carried out to verify the effect of different training techniques (individual outplacement, classic group activities and psychodramatic group activities) in terms of learning outcomes and employability. 124 unemployed Italian people took part in the study, mostly aged between 40 and 50 years, with a medium-high level of education. Results showed that for candidates who took part in group outplacement activities, the replacement was easier than expected, they participated more actively and had higher level of satisfaction, compared to those who only participated in the individual paths.
... Om het werkgedrag van re-integratie-adviseurs te meten werden, gebaseerd op eerdere studies (bijv. Butterfield & Borgen, 2005;Noordzij, Van Hooft, Van Mierlo, Van Dam & Born, 2013a;Westaby, 2004) en interviews met leidinggevenden en werknemers, 142 items ontwikkeld, die veertien categorieën van werkgedrag vertegenwoordigen. De categorieën met bijbehorende items worden door leidinggevenden en werknemers gezien als indicatie voor effectieve re-integratie ofwel goede werkprestaties. ...
... Financiële prestaties, ziekteverzuim van werknemers, beoordelingen door leidinggevenden en zelfbeoordelingen zijn meegenomen omdat dit de meest gebruikte werkprestatie-uitkomsten zijn (Fleenor et al., 2010). De vier categorieën van werkgedrag zijn meegenomen in de clusteranalyse omdat eerder onderzoek heeft laten zien dat deze vier categorieën van werkgedrag sterk samenhangen met de effectiviteit van re-integratie (Butterfield & Borgen, 2005;Westaby, 2004;Wooten, 1996). ...
Within achievement goal orientation theory there is an ongoing debate regarding the ambiguous relationship of mastery and performance goal orientation with (work) performance outcomes. This study focused on job performance, arguing that the ambiguous relationships between achievement goal orientation and job performance can be explained by measuring job performance. Based on a sample of 117 employees, cluster analyzes identified four profiles of objective and subjective job performance indicators in collaboration with employees’ achievement goal orientation. The findings showed that mastery and performance goal orientation are related to specific performance profiles, indicating very good financial performance and an average self-rating of performance for employees with high scores on mastery goal orientation. In contrast, financial performance was worse for employees with high scores for performance goal orientation, although they rated themselves and were rated by their supervisors as good performers. Such profiles can only be uncovered when different performance indicators are considered simultaneously.
... A review by Hanisch (1999) found that coping strategies can significantly impact an employee's well-being and future employment potential. Outplacement is thought to be a useful tool to help employees cope with job loss (Arslan, 2005;Westaby, 2004). Numerous success stories describing the benefits of outplacement for executives exist in the literature (Butterfield and Borgan, 2005;Parkhouse, 1988). ...
... This is often not considered in practice and has not been systematically researched. While the link between a higher quality outplacement process and higher quality reemployment is supported by logic, testimonial evidence, and some research (Westaby, 2004), the connections between personality traits and reemployment quality are less clear. Barrick and Mount (1991) found that conscientiousness had consistent and positive relationships with job performance across a variety of occupational groups. ...
Purpose
Although outplacement consulting and career transition services have become a standard management practice and are almost universally provided when terminating executives, these services have not been carefully evaluated and their benefits are not clearly understood. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of individual differences in determining outplacement success using the Big Five framework as measured by the occupational personality questionnaire (OPQ).
Design/methodology/approach
The behavior of a sample of 53 executives was examined during outplacement as well as their success following reemployment.
Findings
The study's hypotheses were largely supported with agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience making a significant contribution to the understanding of outplacement effectiveness both during and after the transition.
Practical implications
These results suggest that providers should assess individual differences as part of career transition counseling and question recent trends toward making outplacement a commodity service. They also suggest that the diagnostic and counseling skills of a trained professional help to secure a successful outplacement experience and that the process should recognize the unique needs and personality of individual clients.
Originality/value
This paper considers the behavior of actual executives in career transition. It also extends previous research on the Big Five typology to executive outplacement and provides evidence of the usefulness of the OPQ as a measure of these personality traits.
... Finally, there are studies which go beyond and also examine samples of workers who receive outplacement services using statistical techniques (e.g. Westaby, 2004). ...
... Feldman and Leana (2000) show the problems and difficulties of downsized executives who search a job due to the existence of underemployment and assistance of the firing firm not only in terms of outplacement services that should take into account in layoffs. Westaby (2004) uses a sample of managers and executives to assess the outplacement services on employment and earnings perspectives. He carries out a variance-covariance analysis and evidences that outplacement facilitates high-level professionals the return to employment situation. ...
... Finally, there are studies which go beyond and also examine samples of workers who receive outplacement services using statistical techniques (e.g. Westaby, 2004). ...
... Feldman and Leana (2000) show the problems and difficulties of downsized executives who search a job due to the existence of underemployment and assistance of the firing firm not only in terms of outplacement services that should take into account in layoffs. Westaby (2004) uses a sample of managers and executives to assess the outplacement services on employment and earnings perspectives. He carries out a variance-covariance analysis and evidences that outplacement facilitates high-level professionals the return to employment situation. ...
... Applied studies justify the utility of outplacement, although only variance-covariance analysis has been used as statistical tools (Gowan and Nassar-Mc Millan, 2001). Westaby (2004) evidences that outplacement facilitates high level professionals the return to employment situation. The effect is also positive for white-collar workers compared to other similar social services (Davy, Anderson and DiMarco, 1995). ...
... Hence, the worker's implication and full collaboration are required. This fact would suppose an important estimation bias (Westaby, 2004). The difficulty decreases on the assumption that workers did not know (or take into account) the existence of outplacement services as they incorporated to the firm, and they are also induced (for their own good) to accept outplacement programme after the dismissal. ...
... Personal or business reasons can result in talented people exiting and joining another company. This phase locates the mobility of talented employees among the companies of the same group and provides for the relocation of people who have made important contributions to the company in the past but who have ceased to be useful for the company to achieve its current or future objectives (Gidwani & Aziz, 2012;Westaby, 2004). In tech companies, bodyshopping (the ceding of people with technical knowledge to third companies for profit) and headhunting are commonplace (Majumdar et al., 2011). ...
This study addresses the Fast-Track Internal Talent Development model, which consists of capturing
unrecognized talent and developing it quickly, in a short period of time. Two examples in European soccer can
be used to illustrate this: The traditional Internal Talent Development model followed by Fútbol Club Barcelona
and the new model of Fast-Track Internal Talent Development deployed by Atlético de Madrid Fútbol Club.
Longitudinal case study enables us to identify the Fast-Track Internal Talent Development model. Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to player performance to determine which of the two TM models has
been more efficient.
... Personal or business reasons can result in talented people exiting and joining another company. This phase locates the mobility of talented employees among the companies of the same group and provides for the relocation of people who have made important contributions to the company in the past but who have ceased to be useful for the company to achieve its current or future objectives (Westaby, 2004;Gidwani and Aziz, 2012). In tech companies, bodyshopping (the ceding of people with technical knowledge to third companies for profit) and headhunting are commonplace (Majumdar, Simons & Nag, 2011). ...
Learning objectives:
• Understand the concepts of Talent and Talent Management.
• Identify the phases associated with the Talent Management process.
• Identify the Talent Management models and their relationship with the competitive
strategy used by the company.
• To know how the different Talent Management models can be used in knowledge intensive companies (KIF) with disruptive digital business models, and how depending on the moment of their life cycle this type of companies will use one model or another.
• To know the skills and knowledge that KIF with disruptive digital business models should consider in their Talent Management processes.
... Personal or business reasons can result in talented people exiting and joining another company. This phase locates the mobility of talented employees among the companies of the same group and provides for the relocation of people who have made important contributions to the company in the past but who have ceased to be useful for the company to achieve its current or future objectives (Westaby, 2004;Gidwani and Aziz, 2012). In tech companies, bodyshopping (the ceding of people with technical knowledge to third companies for profit) and headhunting are commonplace (Majumdar, Simons & Nag, 2011). ...
... Organisations likely pay for outplacement counselling because they believe in its effectiveness, and this belief is consistent with the academic literature on outplacement counselling (see also Liu et al., 2014). For example, Westaby (2004) collected data from a sample of former employees in the U.S and found that individuals with higher levels of outplacement support were more likely to find reemployment. Another study was conducted by Marzucco and Hansez (2016) in Belgium. ...
When organisations make employees redundant, they increasingly offer outplacement counselling to them, either in-house or as a service of specialised companies. Despite outplacement counsellors' importance, their work-related stress has not been studied yet. In this paper we argue that internal (in-house) outplacement counsellors have a particularly demanding job (especially because being employed by firing organisations should increase role conflicts among internal outplacement counsellors) and they should thus be more emotionally exhausted than external outplacement counsellors. Data from 98 German outplacement counsellors supported this argumentation. Mediation analyses showed that these differences were mediated by increased role conflicts, consistent with role theory arguments. The same effect was found for counsellors' job satisfaction. These results help understanding the stress that outplacement counsellors experience.
... Disclosing information about themselves might be more challenging to job seekers than to employees because they suffer from a disruptive life event and struggle in many domains of life (Brand, 2015). Although the sample characteristics of the present study appear to be comparable to the characteristics of outplacement clients described in previous research (e.g., Westaby, 2004), the generalizability of our results is unclear. Future research could try to increase response rates by, for example, providing incentives to participants. ...
Computerization, environmental challenges, and the economic slowdown related to COVID-19 are expected to result in an increased number of job seekers in the near future. Although the quality of the job search process has been theoretically and empirically linked to job search success and employment quality, research on the determinants of job search process quality has been scarce. The present study uses the self-regulatory model of job search process quality to propose empowering counseling and psychological empowerment during the job search as promoting factors of job search process quality. Data was collected in a sample of clients at an outplacement agency at two separate points in time, 12 weeks apart. In total, 128 clients completed both questionnaires. The results of a moderated mediation analysis suggest that empowering counseling had a positive, indirect effect on job search process quality through psychological empowerment. This indirect effect was moderated by the bond with the counselor, such that the effect was stronger when the bond with the counselor was stronger.
... In het buitenland zijn wel enkele van dergelijke studies uitgevoerd. Westaby (2004) onderzoekt het effect van begeleiding en psychologische assessment in het kader van de outplacement van overtallig geworden managers. Hij vergelijkt daardoor twee outplacement programma's met intensieve begeleiding met twee programma's met een laag relatief niveau van begeleiding. ...
Samenvatting
De centrale vraag in dit paper is of loopbaanoriëntatie- en begeleiding (LOB) een goede gids is voor het arbeidsleven. Het is belangrijk dat jonge mensen een opleiding volgen die hen een goede entree geeft op de arbeidsmarkt. Na het initiële onderwijs zal het steeds meer zo zijn dat mensen regelmatig van werk moeten veranderen en onderwijs en scholing nodig hebben doordat hun werk inhoudelijk verandert of zelfs verdwijnt. De opleidingskeuzes die men voorafgaande aan en tijdens het arbeidsleven moet maken zijn ingewikkeld. In theorie kan LOB helpen om betere loopbaankeuzes te maken. In het paper komt eerst aan de orde wat LOB is, hoe het is ontstaan en hoe het zich heeft ontwikkeld. Daarna wordt een beleidstheorie voor LOB ontwikkeld. Hierbij geven we onder andere een kritische analyse van de in Nederland dominante visie op LOB waarin dit sterk is gericht op zelfredzaamheid en eigen verantwoordelijkheid bij loopbaankeuzes. Een internationale literatuurinventarisatie wijst uit dat LOB voor scholieren en werklozen in de meeste gevallen effectief is en tot betere uitkomsten leidt. Over de effectiviteit van LOB voor werkenden is weinig bekend, maar het weinige onderzoek dat is gedaan wijst ook in deze richting. De literatuur geeft enige indicaties dat LOB vooral effect heeft voor doelgroepen als personen met een lage of laag-middelbare opleiding, personen met een migratieachtergrond en kinderen uit gezinnen met een laag inkomen. We concluderen daarom dat LOB een goede gids voor het arbeidsleven kan zijn, speciaal voor laatstgenoemde groepen. Wel is het aan te bevelen bij de LOB het arbeidsmarktperspectief van opleiding, scholing en banen een grotere plaats te geven dan nu in Nederland het geval is. Verder is een realistischer perspectief op zelfredzaamheid gewenst, waarbij dit minder centraal komt te staan in het beleid dan nu het geval is en advisering hierin juist een grotere plaats krijgt.
... It remains unclear whether employers' engagement in job-to-job support is effective and leads to shorter unemployment spells. Although a lot of employees participated in outplacement schemes, very few quantitative studies have examined their effectiveness (Westaby, 2004). In recent years, scientific research has been conducted on the results of outplacement and the quality of the next job in the event of mass redundancies in the Netherlands (Deelen, Graaf-Zijl and Van den Berge, 2014), but empirical studies are still very scarce. ...
In downsizing organisations, redundant workers suffer from insecurities about work and income. Social security provides income security to the unemployed in the event of job loss. The role played by employers in unemployment prevention for redundant workers, and the effects on unemployment spells and transitions on the labour market, are neglected in both the social policy and HRM literatures. This article addresses the following question: Which factors play a role in the decision to offer job-to-job support and in determining its effect? This article provides the context for the theoretical assumptions regarding why employers initiate job-to-job measures for redundant employees and distinguishes the different types of measures based on a literature review. Secondly, this article contributes to empirical knowledge in the field of unemployment prevention among employers and the effects of job-to-job activities facilitated by employers on redundant workers’ unemployment spells. A two-wave study was conducted on a sample of 2,258 Dutch redundant workers. The study shows that age, breadwinner status and gender are important predictors of unemployment duration after involuntary dismissal. The findings show that investing in the human capital of redundant workers by providing training and education and individual coaching, for example, are associated with a reduced unemployment spell. In our model, in which we controlled for other variables, we found that when one received training, education or individual coaching shortly before or after the dismissal, one was unemployed for an average of almost three months less.
... Outplacement and outplacement services such as consultancy or counselling can be considered useful as they have a positive impact on the employability of the redundant employees. Employees who received better support from the former employer on dismissal had a better chance of reemployment than those who had little or no support [53]. Outplacement is beneficial also for the organization and remaining employees. ...
Work and employment are important elements of every working person’s life. If an employee loses his or her job, he or she loses an important and determining part of his or her life. To reduce the negative effects that affect the quality of an employee’s life, outplacement programs were established as a part of sustainable human resource management. Sustainable human resource management emphasises the importance of employee care. Outplacement, for its part, includes support for employees at their last stage in the organization. The main aims of the paper are to present the research results focused on the perceived usefulness of outplacement programs for dismissed employees, to analyse the relationships between the emotions felt by redundancies and other employees as well as the comparison of differences in emotions felt by different generations of dismissed employees. A valid collection tool (research questionnaire) was developed for research purposes and distributed to employees of industrial enterprises in the Slovak Republic. Overall, the research set was composed of n = 692 employees from different generational groups. The research results proved the existence of a relationships between the emotions felt by redundancies and other employees and differences in emotions felt by employees from different generational groups.
... Eine gute Trennungskultur mit einem Outplacement-Programm sind ein wesentlicher Baustein im Rahmen sinnvoller Personalarbeit. So können negative Effekte auf das verbleibende Personal vermieden, die möglichen gesundheitsgefährdenden Folgen für den freigesetzten Mitarbeiter umgangen und ein positives Verhältnis zum ehemaligen Arbeitgeber aufrechterhalten werden (Challenger 2005;Westaby 2004;Wind 2015). ...
Zusammenfassung
Unkündbarkeit wird bei vielen Mitarbeitern als hohes Gut im Rahmen der beruflichen Ziele angesehen. Insbesondere im öffentlichen Dienst gilt das sichere Arbeitsverhältnis als ein zentraler Imagefaktor und ist somit ein guter Grund für eine Beschäftigung in diesen Bereichen. Daher kann gerade in diesem Sektor eine Kündigung erhebliche negative Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheit der gekündigten Mitarbeiter und das Image des öffentlichen Dienstes als Arbeitgeber haben. Aus Sicht des Unternehmens ist die Outplacement-Beratung ein sinnvoller Baustein im Kontext einer Employee-Lifecycle-Strategie (i. S. v. Recruiting – Retention – Exit/Outplacement). Eine faire Trennungskultur, die durch ein Outplacement-Programm unterstützt wird, kann den Mitarbeitern neue Perspektiven aufzeigen und gleichzeitig das Image des Arbeitgebers stärken. Die zentralen Erwartungen von Klienten an eine erfolgreiche Outplacement-Beratung werden durch eine Interviewstudie untersucht. Die Teilnehmer wurden bezüglich ihrer Erwartungen und Erfahrungen während der Konsultation befragt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich, dass die Person des Beraters eine enorme Bedeutung besitzt und so einer der wichtigsten Erfolgsfaktoren der Beratung darstellt. Trifft der Berater durch Einfühlungsvermögen und professionelle Passgenauigkeit die Bedürfnisse des Klienten, lassen sich sehr schnell Zuversicht und die Sicht neuer Perspektiven im Beratungsprozess erzielen.
... Finally, in the case of outplacement, which tends to entail legal issues, the co-operation between line managers and expert external providers may be totally necessary. When Outplacement programs are outsourced it provides a high level of support and service and both facilitate the positive reemployment outcomes for employee and allow organizations achieve beneficial outcomes (Westaby, 2004). For these sets of HR functions, thus, we can say that the strategy of devolvement of HR tasks to the line is significantly related to the decision to outsource. ...
Purpose: The paper aim to explore the evolution in the use of HRO in Spanish firms, and determine the differences in the degree of implementation of HRO since 1999 until 2014, and also analyze the relationship between HR outsourcing and devolution of HR responsibilities to line managers in Spanish organizations.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper combines quantitative and qualitative methods. Namely the article is based on international Cranet HRM survey data collected from private and public organizations and also interviews with HR external providers.
Findings: The analysis of developments, based on the Cranet surveys and interviews with HR external providers shows that during the past few years there has been an increasing use of HRO in parallel with the tendency to devolve more HR responsibility to line managers.
Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this research is the limitation of data about reasons for devolution that the CRANET questionnaire provides. However, the interviews carried out enrich the survey data with qualitative results.
Practical implications: The findings can be used to guide management teams in outsourcing and devolution decisions to maximize benefits to their organizations.
Originality/value: This paper is about the evolution of HRO in Spain as a European Union country where published research on HRO and also its implications is relatively limited. The originality of this paper is mainly the involvement of line manager in the outsourcing process which have been poorly analyzed until now.
... Importé du monde anglo-saxon, l'outplacement apparaît, en Belgique comme en France, au début des années 1980 (Bernard, Renard, 2002). D'après la littérature, principalement anglo-saxonne, son public cible est composé principalement de cadres managers et de salariés de haut niveau de tous âges (Butterfield, Borgen, 2005 ;Westaby, 2004). Il est alors pensé comme un dispositif de gestion des ressources humaines qui s'adresse à certains individus qui vont être licenciés. ...
Cet article propose d’expliquer la notion d’ outplacement , c’est-à-dire le reclassement professionnel, et son étendue aux 45 ans et plus en Belgique comme un processus de responsabilisation individuelle. Il mobilise la notion foucaldienne de gouvernementalité pour interpréter ce mouvement comme un « gouvernement à distance » des individus. Celui-ci s’inscrit à la croisée des évolutions du libéralisme entre « néo » et « ordo » libéralisme selon Foucault. Ces deux notions referaient surface depuis l’encouragement de l’activation et du vieillissement actif. Néanmoins, les données disponibles soulignent le décollage relatif de cette nouvelle forme d’action publique. Nous l’expliquons à partir d’une focalisation sur la gestion de l’âge par les protagonistes de l’ outplacement que sont les « candidats » et les « consultants ».
... Leider findet sich nur wenig empirische Evidenz, die frei von Interessenskonflikten ist. Die wenigen existierenden Evaluationen belegen aber, dass sowohl Gruppenoutplacement (Haari 1999) als auch Einzeloutplacement (Westaby 2004) erfolgreich sein können und beispielsweise das Einkommen nach einer Wiederbeschäftigung positiv beeinflussen. ...
Wir diskutieren ausgewählte individuelle Ursachen von Arbeitslosigkeit sowie deren Auswirkungen auf die Betroffenen. Beispielhaft betrachten wir Persönlichkeit und psychische Gesundheit als Determinanten von Arbeitslosigkeit sowie die Auswirkungen von Arbeitslosigkeit auf das seelische Wohlbefinden und die weitere Laufbahnentwicklung. Hinsichtlich möglicher Wege aus der Arbeitslosigkeit wird näher auf das Stellensuchverhalten von Arbeitslosen eingegangen, auf systematische Programme zur Förderung der Arbeitsplatzsuche sowie auf Outplacementberatung, Selbstständigkeit und Zeitarbeit. Zudem erfolgt eine Betrachtung des Themas Arbeitslosigkeit im Kontext klassischer und moderner Karrieretheorien.
... In a U.S. Department of Labor study, Wegman (1979) found that employees assigned to job assistance programs were almost twice as successful in gaining reemployment as those who were not. Westaby (2004) found that those who participated in higher levels of outplacement took more time to find employment, were more likely to be reemployed, and had higher salaries in their new jobs compared to those with lower levels of outplacement services. ...
Outplacement is the process by which a terminated employee seeks reemployment with the assistance of the former employer (Lee, 1991). Outplacement services offered to terminated employees traditionally include departure assistance, personal support, career and personal assessment, job search, marketing counsel, and administrative services. When employees have access to higher levels of outplacement services, they are more likely to be reemployed and have higher salaries than those with lower levels of outplacement services (Westaby, 2004). Trends in outplacement services suggest firms are trying to obtain reemployment of former employees with fewer services and tighter outplacement budgets (Martin and Lekan, 2008).
... We could thus assume that unemployable workers would be much more likely to claim indemnity than employable workers. One could argue that this job-seeking issue would be addressed more efficiently through outplacement services and skill development policies (Challenger, 2005;Westaby, 2004). However, outplacement services are not a panacea. ...
When it comes to negotiating over a collective dismissals plan, the French national legal framework explicitly encourages social partners to favour outplacement services over significant indemnity payments. However, significant above-mandatory redundancy payments are commonly granted to laid-off workers. Based on these factual observations, this article aims to identify the antecedent conditions, or, more precisely, the combinations of conditions, that lead to the granting of a large severance pay. We conducted a qualitative comparative analysis (Crisp set QCA) methodology applied to 20 monographs on downsizing operations that took place in France during the 2000s. The results show that above-mandatory severance payments are closely related to two major dimensions characterizing the economic and social context in which restructuring processes are carried out. The first one is about the balance of power prevailing between the company decisionmakers and the employees. This balance of power dimension is subsumed by two distinct conditions: the availability of financial resources and the presence of active unions. The second dimension relates to the moral and economic damages inflicted upon laid-off workers. This dimension is intrinsically connected to two downsizing process features, i.e. the perceived degree of legitimacy associated with the downsizing process and the degree of employability associated with the laid-off workers. Most notably, it appears that none of the identified conditions is sufficient by itself to induce the payment of a significant above-mandatory indemnity. However, some causal conditions may induce the outcome variable when they are combined with some specific other antecedent conditions. Thus, our research shows that the financial resource condition leads to the granting of an above-mandatory indemnity either in conjunction with a low degree of worker’s employability or in conjunction with both a weak perceived legitimacy of the restructuring process and the presence of active unions.
... Outplacement has a positive impact on the perception of the enterprise as socially responsible. Supporting the redundant workers brings benefits such as improving the image of the organisation, a positive climate in the organisation, protection of critical competencies, and reducing the costs of potential litigation (Westaby, 2004;Lewicka, 2010, p. 118). The reduction in employment should also be preceded by an analysis of the effects for not only the company, but also its stakeholders (employers, workers' representatives, labour unions, public administration, regional authorities and external consultants, including NGOs) (Schwan & Seipel, 1997, p. 238;Meyer & Shadle, 1994, pp. ...
This chapter focuses on maintaining employment in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises, which is crucial for the functioning of the economy. However, in an economic crisis, the changes in the area of employment of workers often become the foremost way of adapting to declining financial resources, which are the result of reduction of interest in the offer of the organisation by the customers. These actions had proven to be particularly evident in the case of global financial and economic crisis, which also affected the Polish economy after 2008. The chapter suggests that the layoffs lead to rise in unemployment. Thus, there is a need to promote the outplacement, which is, a technique oriented on responsible dismissals in order to support a smooth transition of laid-off workers to new workplaces. In this way, both employees and companies increase their chances of maintaining competencies and better adapt to market competition requirements. This chapter explores the characteristics of the labour market policy in Poland, main features of the outplacement in the context of the crisis, examples of the outplacement implementation, plans for further development of the outplacement, and conclusions including directions for further research. M. Klimczuk-Kochańska, A. Klimczuk, Outplacement: The Polish Experience and Plans for Development in the Labour Market, [in:] S. Romano, G. Punziano (eds.), The European Social Model Adrift: Europe, Social Cohesion and the Economic Crisis, Ashgate, Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT 2015, pp. 89-106.
... Outplacement has a positive impact on the perception of the enterprise as socially responsible. Supporting the redundant workers brings benefits such as improving the image of the organisation, a positive climate in the organisation, protection of critical competencies, and reducing the costs of potential litigation (Westaby, 2004;Lewicka, 2010, p. 118). The reduction in employment should also be preceded by an analysis of the effects for not only the company, but also its stakeholders (employers, workers' representatives, labour unions, public administration, regional authorities and external consultants, including NGOs) (Schwan & Seipel, 1997, p. 238;Meyer & Shadle, 1994, pp. ...
This chapter focuses on maintaining employment in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises, which is crucial for the functioning of the economy. However, in an economic crisis, the changes in the area of employment of workers often become the foremost way of adapting to declining financial resources, which are the result of reduction of interest in the offer of the organisation by the customers. These actions had proven to be particularly evident in the case of global financial and economic crisis, which also affected the Polish economy after 2008.
The chapter suggests that the layoffs lead to rise in unemployment. Thus, there is a need to promote the outplacement, which is, a technique oriented on responsible dismissals in order to support a smooth transition of laid-off workers to new workplaces. In this way, both employees and companies increase their chances of maintaining competencies and better adapt to market competition requirements.
This chapter explores the characteristics of the labour market policy in Poland, main features of the outplacement in the context of the crisis, examples of the outplacement implementation, plans for further development of the outplacement, and conclusions including directions for further research.
... Importé du monde anglo-saxon, l'outplacement apparaît, en Belgique comme en France, au début des années 1980 (Bernard, Renard, 2002). D'après la littérature, principalement anglo-saxonne, son public cible est composé principalement de cadres managers et de salariés de haut niveau de tous âges (Butterfield, Borgen, 2005 ;Westaby, 2004). Il est alors pensé comme un dispositif de gestion des ressources humaines qui s'adresse à certains individus qui vont être licenciés. ...
This article presents a generalization of outplacement after 45 years in Belgium as being a possible version of active ageing aimed at encouraging individuals to seek work on their own. Taking our inspiration from research done on governmentality, active ageing serves as a frame of reference favouring the prolongation of careers (action on the “conduct of conduct”), but can also, in outplacement, act in making individuals responsible for themselves (action on “conducting oneself”). Based on micro-sociological analysis, the article then identifies the conduct expected in terms of working on oneself and subsequently the reactions of an over 45 year old public characterized as having rather unqualified profiles. In conclusion, we refocus the limits of this work in asking ourselves whether it leads to working on oneself or an injunction against working on oneself.
... Besides very o en outsourced salary administration, outsourcing companies are off ering practically all activities of human resources management nowadays (Baňasová et al., 2010). Success of outsourcing mainly presupposes respecting of the context of strategic framework of the organisation and change in thinking of all key actors engaged in the project execution (Westaby, 2004;Whiteoak, Manning, 2012). Many organisations were forced to revaluate selection, or reintegrate some activities. ...
A necessary condition of effective functioning of human resources management in an organisation is the creation of adequate organisational conditions including the existence of a human resources management department, its size, composition and responsibility, which are formed following particular conditions of the given organisation. Competitive environment of organisations operating in Slovakia and Czech Republic is growing with the process of world economy globalisation, and it brings the need of flexibility in management, and therefore we have to get used to changes also in the sphere of human resources management, and learn to cope with new impulses and situations. At present, that predominantly includes spreading effects of global financial and economic crisis, influencing all spheres of life in Slovakia and in Czech Republic too. Handling this situation presupposes flexibility in assessment of changes in environment where organisations operate, ability to detect all positive as well as negative impacts and situations, and formulation of measures to enhance their own position sensibly and cautiously. Due to the need of focusing of organisations on comprehensive arrangement of human resources management, in questionnaire researches, we focused on finding out whether and to what extent organisations operating in Slovakia (n = 340) and in Czech Republic (n = 109) focus on human resources management arrangement. The objective of the article is to compare results in the sphere of human resources in organisations operating in Slovak and Czech Republics. The results show that 67% organisations in Slovakia and only 43% in the Czech Republic had a human resources management department which realised followed human resources management functions and personnel strategy.
... However, before implementing such assessments and adapting the subsequent counseling process based on the assessments, future research is needed to replicate our findings, to rule out alternative explanations (e.g., self-fulfilling prophecies), and verify whether and how such methods ultimately improve reemployment counseling effectiveness. More generally, the present study extends previous research on the beneficial role of reemployment counseling (e.g., Caplan et al., 1989;Koen et al., 2013;Van Hooft & Noordzij, 2009;Vuori et al., 2005;Westaby, 2004), further demonstrating the importance of employment counselors in the reemployment process. This has important policy implications, as reemployment counseling is often thought expensive and ineffective. ...
Because unemployment negatively affects people's well-being, it is of crucial importance that unemployed individuals move back to work. The process of getting reemployed, however, is difficult and complex. Therefore, many unemployed job seekers are assisted by employment counselors. The present study focuses on motivating and hindering factors in the reemployment process, examining the added value of the counselors' assessment of job seekers' attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. The results of a 3-wave study with job seeker self-ratings and counselor-ratings indicated that perceived health problems is the most consistent predictor of job search and reemployment status. The findings further provide some convergent validity evidence for self- and counselor-rated situational-level motivators (i.e., attitude, social pressure, self-efficacy) and job search intensity. Although method effects did not seem to threaten the validity of the prediction of job search intensity and procrastination, employment counselors' assessments of job seekers' job search intensity and procrastination were significantly more strongly related to reemployment success than job seekers' self-ratings. Future research should therefore include other-reports, in addition to job seeker self-reports, to get a more complete view of people's job search behavior. Also reemployment counseling firms may want to use the expert knowledge of their employment counselors more systematically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
... In addition, we sought to integrate the counseling behaviors into a tentative process model of employment counseling. The acknowledgment of employment counseling as a process is well known in theory as well as in practice (e.g., Aquilanti & Leroux, 1999;Westaby, 2004). Yet, to our knowledge, the phases of distinctive behaviors of employment counselors and their relevance to counseling effectiveness have never been systematically examined, raising the question, "What are effective behaviors of employment counselors, and how are these behaviors related to the phases of employment counseling?" ...
The aim of this study was to propose a tentative model of employment counseling based on 31 critical incident interviews with supervisors, employment counselors, and unemployed job seekers. The incidents (N= 599) mentioned in the interviews were inductively used to develop a category framework describing behaviors of employment counselors. On the basis of the interviews, categories, and incidents within these categories, the authors proposed a 4‐phase preliminary model of the employment counseling process. Findings suggest that employment counseling is a complex and dynamic process involving several distinct and consecutive steps focused on clients, governmental funding agencies, colleagues, and employers.
... It thus appears that our findings might have potential applications for the issue of unemployment. Outplacement firms typically provide employees with job search, networking, self-marketing, résumé, and interview tools (e.g., Westaby, 2004). Our findings suggest that EC might be a key element in finding a job. ...
This study builds on earlier work showing that adult emotional competencies (EC) could be improved through a relatively brief training. In a set of 2 controlled experimental studies, the authors investigated whether developing EC could lead to improved emotional functioning; long-term personality changes; and important positive implications for physical, psychological, social, and work adjustment. Results of Study 1 showed that 18 hr of training with e-mail follow-up was sufficient to significantly improve emotion regulation, emotion understanding, and overall EC. These changes led in turn to long-term significant increases in extraversion and agreeableness as well as a decrease in neuroticism. Results of Study 2 showed that the development of EC brought about positive changes in psychological well-being, subjective health, quality of social relationships, and employability. The effect sizes were sufficiently large for the changes to be considered as meaningful in people's lives.
Leaving parliament is often a time of significant financial, employment and emotional difficulty for MPs. However, few studies have examined the support provided by parliaments to departing and former members. Consequently, parliaments lack access to best-practice case studies to improve the transitional experience for MPs. This article develops five benchmarks for supporting former MPs, covering transitional financial assistance; retirement income; career, financial, life transitions and redundancy counselling; mental health and medical services; and social and networking opportunities. These benchmarks are used to assess the support provided to former members by 22 selected ‘professional parliaments’. Although most of these parliaments offer adequate retirement income, none currently provide sufficient transitional financial assistance for MPs who depart before pensionable age. In all cases, improvements are also required to mental health and other counselling services. Most parliaments provide adequate social and networking opportunities. Implementing and extending these measures will improve the transitional experience of former MPs and enhance democratic rotation by reducing impediments to high-quality candidates from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds from seeking political office, while easing the exit of MPs who are ready to leave.
Il networking è una strategia che ha come obiettivo la gestione della propria rete di conoscenze per acquisire informazioni in modo informale, in particolare, su possibili proposte lavorative non pubblicizzate mediante inserzioni. Senza una solida rete di contatti le persone in cerca di lavoro incontreranno maggiori ostacoli nel loro percorso. Nello specifico contesto italiano la maggior parte delle opportunità professionali sono nascoste e regolate da un processo di passaparola.Focus della presente ricerca è quello di descrivere come il networking venga percepito e utilizzato dai partecipanti a percorsi di outplacement per valutarne un suo possibile utilizzo come strategia per il reinserimento lavorativo. Il questionario prende in esame le tre dimensioni del networking (intensità, qualità e atteggiamento) oltre alle capacità comunicative, all'autoefficacia, alla personalitàproattiva e alla resilienza.La ricerca, svolta in collaborazione con Intoo, società leader nei servizi di outplacement in Italia, ha coinvolto 146 disoccupati attivi con un'età media di 46.94 anni.Differenze significative si sono riscontrate per due dimensioni del networking: per l'intensità in rapporto al genere e per l'atteggiamento con l'ultimo ruololavorativo ricoperto dai partecipanti.Non sono emerse differenze significative per quanto riguarda età, titolo di studio e periodo trascorso dall'inizio del percorso di outplacement e le dimensioni del networking. Tali dimensioni presentano tutte correlazioni positive e significative con i costrutti di personalità. Vengono discussi implicazioni e limiti dello studio.
Job search is an important activity that people engage in during various phases across the life span (e.g., school-to-work transition, job loss, job change; career transition). Based on our definition of job search as a goal-directed, motivational, and self-regulatory process, we present a framework to organize the multitude of variables examined in the literature on job seeking and employment success. We conducted a quantitative synthesis of the literature to test relationships between job-search self-regulation, job-search behavior, and employment success outcomes. We also quantitatively review key antecedents (i.e., personality, attitudinal factors, and contextual variables) of job-search self-regulation, job-search behavior, and employment success. We included studies that examined relationships with job-search or employment success variables among job seekers (e.g., new labor market entrants, unemployed individuals, employed individuals), resulting in 378 independent samples (N = 165,933). Most samples (74.3%, k = 281) came from articles published in 2001 or later. Findings from our meta-analyses support the role of job-search intensity in predicting quantitative employment success outcomes (i.e., rc = .23 for number of interviews, rc = .14 for number of job offers, and rc = .19 for employment status). Overall job-search intensity failed to predict employment quality. Our findings identify job-search self-regulation and job-search quality as promising constructs for future research, as these predicted both quantitative employment success outcomes and employment quality. Based on the results of the theoretical and quantitative synthesis we map out an agenda for future research.
Wir diskutieren ausgewählte individuelle Ursachen von Arbeitslosigkeit sowie deren Auswirkungen auf die Betroffenen. Beispielhaft betrachten wir Persönlichkeit und psychische Gesundheit als Determinanten von Arbeitslosigkeit sowie die Auswirkungen von Arbeitslosigkeit auf das seelische Wohlbefinden und die weitere Laufbahnentwicklung. Hinsichtlich möglicher Wege aus der Arbeitslosigkeit wird näher auf das Stellensuchverhalten von Arbeitslosen eingegangen, auf systematische Programme zur Förderung der Arbeitsplatzsuche sowie auf Outplacementberatung, Selbstständigkeit und Zeitarbeit. Zudem erfolgt eine Betrachtung des Themas Arbeitslosigkeit im Kontext klassischer und moderner Karrieretheorien.
Die Personaleinsatzplanung nimmt in gesamtunternehmerischer Sichtweise eine wichtige Funktion ein. Damit steht sie auch im Zusammenhang mit der Personalbeschaffung, der Arbeitsgestaltung oder der Personalentwicklung. Personaleinsatzplanung meint die Zuordnung von Beschäftigten auf die im Betrieb verfügbaren Arbeitsplätze. Die Zuordnung kann aus quantitativer, qualitativer, zeitlicher oder örtlicher Sicht geschehen. Generell ist das Ziel der Personaleinatzplanung eine optimale Passung von Mitarbeiter und Tätigkeit herzustellen. Die Herausforderung besteht dabei darin, dass Mitarbeiter entsprechend ihrer Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten denjenigen Arbeitsplätzen zugeordnet werden müssen, dessen Anforderungen sie optimal begegnen können. Zu diesem Zweck findet ein Abgleich der Qualifikationen des Mitarbeiters mit den Anforderungen der zu betzenden Stelle statt.
This article proposes an explanation of the concept of outplacement, i.e. occupational reclassification and its extension to workers aged 45 and over in Belgium, as a process of shifting responsibility to individuals. It mobilises Foucault's concept of governmentality to interpret this movement as "remote government" of individuals. According to Foucault, this lies on the border between the two trends of liberalism - "neo" and "ortho". Both concepts seem to be resurfacing with the encouragement of activation and active ageing. The available data nevertheless highlight the relative popularity of this new form of public action. We explain this as a focus on age management by the protagonists of outplacement - the "candidates" and the "consultants".
The paper focuses on staff number reducing in Czech organizations because it is an important issue due to adaptation to changing economic conditions and ongoing financial crisis. The number of organizations reducing their staff number goes up in all sectors of economy including agriculture and the problem is associated with financial costs. The objective is to present the ways of staff number reduction in Czech organizations and outplacement for the laid-off workers and a partial objective is to compare the results with those in the Slovak Republic. Moreover, the paper discusses the recommendation in the sphere of knowledge continuity for organizations and it also examines the cost level of employees’ turnover. The results were obtained by implementing quantitative research with the help of questionnaire data collection (n = 109) which were analyzed by the tools of descriptive statistics. Results show that 52.3% of organizations have reduced their staff number. However, outplacement was used by only 10.1% of the addressed Czech organizations, out of which 28.6% were agricultural.
Despite widespread popular concern about what it means to be over 40 and unemployed, little attention has been paid in the literature to clarifying the role of age within the job seeking experience. Extending theory, we propose mechanisms by which chronological age affects job search and reemployment outcomes after job loss. Through a meta-analysis and examination of 2 supplemental datasets, we examine 5 questions: (a) How strong is the relationship between age and reemployment speed? (b) Does age disadvantage individuals with respect to other reemployment outcomes? (c) Is the relationship between age and reemployment outcomes mediated by job search activities? (d) Are these relationships generalizable? and (e) Are these relationships linear or curvilinear? Our findings provide evidence for a negative relationship between age and reemployment status and speed across job search decade, world region, and unemployment rate, with the strength of the negative relationship becoming stronger over age 50. Job search self-efficacy and job search intensity partially mediate the relationship between age and both reemployment status and speed. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
Featured in Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2015/08/05/the-3-strikes-against-older-job-hunters/
Featured in Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201507/finding-new-job-after-40
Featured in Discovery at Carlson http://carlsonschool.umn.edu/news/those-over-50-finding-job-can-get-old-0
This article reviews professional literature published in 2004 related to career counseling and career development. The literature is divided into 4 broad areas: professional issues, career theory and concepts, career interventions and practice, and career assessment and technology. The authors summarize and discuss the implications of the findings for career counseling practice and research.
The authors examined the relationship between an individual's human capital profile—knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics—and compensation before and after a job loss. The results of this study show that the types of human capital that predicted pre-job-loss salary differ from the types that predict reemployment salary. The findings provide guidance for developing human capital profiles that include general as well as specific types of training to enhance marketability following a job loss.
The results from a survey of 238 human resources executives from organizations that offer outplacement counseling (OPC) internally and 168 that offer it externally suggest that internal OPC delivery is inferior to external OPC delivery. The author found that most internal OPC organizations did not offer the 13 traditional OPC services, even when they were viewed as important. However, both groups had deficiencies in measuring their OPC relative to gender, age, and effectiveness. Internal OPC organizations rated the quality of their OPC service as 4.77 on a scale of 10, whereas external OPC organizations rated their services as 7.96.
The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge regarding involuntary work transitions among laid-off workers. It is part of an ongoing cooperation with two outplacement agencies enrolling white-collar workers. The particular arrangements, which are based on collective agreements, include relatively generous support, both economically and regarding the educational and counselling arrangements offered. A narrative research approach is used and the analysis is based on interviews with 15 people, conducted on two occasions with about a year in between. Conceptualizing the transition as a biographical learning process, the findings point out a great variety within and between cases. While the basic distinction is drawn between people who have changed their status and those who have not, a number of rhetorical varieties are identified, pointing to different modes of biographical learning. The originality of the paper lies in its narrative approach and the particular conceptual framework showing that biographical learning is a vital part of enforced work transitions.
This study contributes to the literature on self-presentation by comparing recruiters’ expectations about applicants’ self-presentational behaviors in personnel selection settings to applicants’ actual use of these behaviors. Recruiters (N = 51) rated the perceived appropriateness of 24 self-presentational behaviors. In addition, the prevalence of these behaviors was separately assessed in two subsamples of applicants (N 1 = 416 and N 2 = 88) with the randomized response technique. In line with the script concept, the results revealed that recruiters similarly evaluated the appropriateness of specific self-presentational behaviors and that applicants’ general use of these behaviors corresponded to recruiters’ shared expectations. The findings indicate that applicants who use strategic self-presentational behaviors may just be trying to fulfill situational requirements.
Objective:
This article examines how workers supported by outplacement services engage with an occupational transition through problem solving and learning.
Participants:
The participants were 23 mid-life redundant white collar workers with at least eight years in their sector, organization or occupation. The selected interviewees either participated in training to broaden their professional competence or did not make any such 'expansive' efforts.
Methods:
The study was based on narrative interviews, which enabled a detailed cross case examination of individuals' actions and choices and how the process unfolds over time.
Results:
The results showed that people treat their job loss as a practical problem to be solved using various strategies. This problem-solving process is structured, with people passing similar crossroads defining particular challenges and opportunities giving people limited sets of choices.
Conclusion:
The results point to the significance of creativity and learning in occupational transitions.
Reviews recent studies of the social and private costs of unemployment. Although the experience of joblessness differs according to circumstances, prolonged unemployment is commonly a serious threat to health and the broad quality of life. These costs are borne not only by individual workers, but also by their families and communities. Research on unemployment has examined (1) associations between unemployment rate and indicators of strain such as psychiatric admissions and infant mortality, (2) ecologic studies of economic change, and (3) associations between unemployment and the demand for mental health services. The implications of this research for economic and social policy are discussed and contrasted with policy development premised on a benign view of unemployment. (20 ref)
The purpose of this article is to examine the role of goal commitment in goal-setting research. Despite Locke's (1968) specification that commitment to goals is a necessary condition for the effectiveness of goal setting, a majority of studies in this area have ignored goal commitment. In addition, results of studies that have examined the effects of goal commitment were typically inconsistent with conceptualization of commitment as a moderator. Building on past research, we have developed a model of the goal commitment process and then used it to reinterpret past goal-setting research. We show that the widely varying sizes of the effect of goal difficulty, conditional effects of goal difficulty, and inconsistent results with variables such as participation can largely be traced to main and interactive effects of the variables specified by the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Longitudinal observations are reported on 4 groups of young people, defined by their employment status on 2 occasions after leaving school. Questionnaires were administered to them in 1980 while they were at school and then again after intervals of 2 and 3 years when they were all in the labor force. Clear differences were observed between the unemployed and employed groups after the longer interval that were not apparent after the shorter interval. The unemployed showed lower self-esteem and greater depressive affect, negative mood, and externality in locus of control than the employed. The unemployed showed no deterioration on any of the measures since they were in school, but the employed showed an improvement. These results imply that although gaining employment produces an improvement in psychological well-being in school leavers, unemployment does not have the opposite effect. The clear differences observed after 3 years that were not apparent after 2 suggest that longitudinal observations after longer intervals may show evidence of deterioration in the unemployed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted process analysis of treatment mediation effects (Judd & Kenney, 1981) on longitudinal data from a large randomized field experiment with 928 recently unemployed persons. The experimental treatment included an intervention that succeeded in promoting quality reemployment outcomes, as described in earlier reports (Caplan et al., 1989; Vinokur et al., 1991). Using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1988), the analyses examined the mediating effects of job-search self-efficacy, attitude, norms, and intention on job-search behavior. The results provided substantial support for the theory of planned behavior and demonstrated the mediational role of job-search self-efficacy. For both 1- and 4-month posttests, job-search self-efficacy was shown to mediate the effects of the intervention through its direct effects on job-search intention and on short term job-search behavior, as well as through its indirect effects on subjective norms and attitude. However, in the longer term 4-month posttest, exposure to the intervention had a direct effect on job-search behavior. This long-term direct effect of the intervention was hypothesized to reflect the influence of inoculation against setbacks which is essential for sustaining the long-term behavioral efforts involved in job seeking.
Results are reported from a 2 1/2 year follow-up of respondents who participated in a randomized field experiment that included the Jobs Program, a preventive intervention for unemployed persons. The intervention was intended to prevent poor mental health and loss of motivation to seek reemployment and to promote high-quality reemployment. The results of the long-term follow-up were consistent with those found 1 and 4 months after intervention (Caplan, Vinokur, Price, & van Ryn, 1989). The results demonstrate the continued beneficial effects of the intervention on monthly earnings, level of employment, and episodes of employer and job changes. These findings are supported by a benefit-cost analysis, which demonstrates large net benefits of the intervention to the participants and to the federal and state government programs that supported the project.
Cognitive theories of adherence to difficult courses of action and findings from previous survey research on coping with a major life event--job loss--were used to generate a preventive intervention, tested by a randomized field experiment. The aim was to prevent poor mental health and loss of motivation to seek reemployment among those who continued to be unemployed and to promote high-quality reemployment. Ss were 928 recently unemployed adults from southeastern Michigan, representing a broad range of demographic characteristics; they were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control condition. The experimental intervention included training in job seeking with a problem-solving process emphasizing inoculation against setbacks and positive social reinforcement. A pretest was administered, followed by posttests 1 and 4 months after the experiment. The experimental condition yielded higher quality reemployment in terms of earnings and job satisfaction, and higher motivation among those who continued to be unemployed.
A laboratory experiment was conducted in which, "by accident," some Ss were allowed too much time in which to perform a task while others were allowed a minimum amount of time. Subsequently, when presented with a similar task, and allowed to work at their own pace, Ss who were allowed excess time initially required more time to complete the task. Thus, going beyond Parkinson's law, not only does a piece of work expand to fill the time available, but once it has expanded it continues to require more time. The phenomenon is discussed in terms of Guthrie's theory of learning and Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance.
This study examined 3 predictors (self-esteem, perceived control, and optimism) and 3 outcomes (short-term mental health, reemployment, and long-term mental health) of coping behavior among unemployed individuals in a longitudinal context. The predictors and outcomes had differential relationships with the 5 coping behaviors (proactive search, nonwork organization, positive self-assessment, distancing from loss, and job devaluation) assessed. Two interactions between coping behavior and perceived situational control (the perception that one would find a job) were found. Proactive search (job-search behavior) was associated with decreased mental health at Time 1 among individuals with low situational control but not among individuals with high situational control. Distancing from loss was associated with decreased reemployment among individuals with low situational control but not among individuals with high situational control.
Results are reported from a 2'/2 year follow-up of respondents who participated in a randomized field experiment that included the Jobs Program, a preventive intervention for unemployed persons. The intervention was intended to prevent poor mental health and loss of motivation to seek reemployment and to promote high-quality reemployment. The results of the long-term follow-up were consistent with those found 1 and 4 months after intervention (Caplan, Vinokur, Price, & van Ryn, 1989). The results demonstrate the continued beneficial effects of the intervention on monthly earnings, level of employment, and episodes of employer and job changes. These findings are supported by a benefit-cost analysis, which demonstrates large net benefits of the intervention to the participants and to the federal and state government programs that supported the project.
Cognitive theories of adherence to difficult courses of action and findings from previous survey research on coping with a major life event—job loss—were used to generate a preventive intervention, tested by a randomized field experiment. The aim was to prevent poor mental health and loss of motivation to seek reemployment among those who continued to be unemployed and to promote high-quality reemployment. Ss were 928 recently unemployed adults from southeastern Michigan, representing a broad range of demographic characteristics; they were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control condition. The experimental intervention included training in job seeking with a problem-solvin g process emphasizing inoculation against setbacks and positive social reinforcement. A pretest was administered, followed by posttests 1 and 4 months after the experiment. The experimental condition yielded higher quality reemployment in terms of earnings and job satisfaction, and higher motivation among those who continued to be unemployed.
Although the stress of involuntary job loss is well documented, the process through which people cope and ultimately adapt following this stressful event needs clarification. This article provides a crucial next step by introducing new theory to explain how people cope with job loss. The process model developed in this article incorporates constructs from coping theory, control theory, and self-efficacy. Future research strategies are suggested regarding coping effectiveness and reciprocal causality.
The focus of the article is on a visual model for individual career counseling. The model takes into account psychological, social, and economic factors and describes decision making as a journey with four discernible stages.
The management of the job-loss situation is becoming of central
importance to top management and human resource executives in the
current climate of redundancy. The current nature of severance packages
and the provision of outplacement may be interpreted as a move towards
normative practices within the policy making of many UK organizations.
Reports on the results of a recent survey of over 600 UK organizations.
The survey covered organizational perspectives on redundancies and the
use of outplacement in the event of redundancy. The results indicated a
change in corporate values in the 1990s. There appeared to be a move
towards normative practices in the management of redundancy and in
particular in the use of outplacement as a moderator of the potentially
detrimental impact of the redundancy situation.
The Aquilanti Integrated Model of Outplacement was developed from various aspects of existing grief and career theories. It comprises many practical elements that are present in the other models as well personal experience and knowledge of career counseling. It involves four phases: loss, grieving, and transition; personal development; job search; and ongoing counseling and support. (Author/JDM)
Using the Job Loss Coping Behavior scale (JLCB; Leana & Feldman, 1992), this article examines the behaviors of 131 unemployed male and female managers In coping with their job loss. The results Indicate that the men had significantly higher job search efficacy. The article's findings suggest that women may need more help In identifying a network of colleagues and friends to assist with their job search activities than men. The authors encourage employment counselors to be mindful of this finding and to help unemployed women to develop more appropriate proactive behaviors and skills that will assist them with their job search activities.
This study examined various program components of professional outplacement relative to client satisfaction using a sample that comprised a majority of former executives seeking jobs. Results from a pencil-and -paper client survey suggest that outplacement content components (job search training, preparation) and process components (consultant relationship, clarity of expectations, assistance in maintaining focus) were better predictors of client satisfaction when compared with contextual components (library, software, administrative support). Findings from this study suggest that issues of self-efficacy may make a key contribution not only to client satisfaction, but to the design and the administration of outplacement services.
The author discusses five predictable stages of development in transition counseling. They include comfort (reassurances about self-worth and identity); reflection (exploration and understanding); clarification (with respect to career and self); direction (exploring possible life/career directions); and perspective shift (putting the transition in perspective and being able to manage future transitions successfully). (CT)
This study investigated the relationship among age, gender, and race relative to participation in self-awareness, action-oriented, and training activities after a job loss. The 156 respondents in this study were part of a larger, longitudinal study that collected data using questionnaires from outplacement program participants at 6 months and at 1 year following a company closing. Main effects were found for gender and for Age × Employment status. Implications of the study for outplacement programs, along with study limitations and future research directions, are discussed.
Outlines a model of career decision making that illustrates the interactional nature of the decision-making process. The model highlights the interaction among contextual factors, decision triggers, establishing a perspective (frame) of the problem, reframing, and action planning. Career counseling with an interactive decision-making approach requires an acknowledgement of external influences as well as of individual variables. The interactive perspective is based on process and change, and seems particularly relevant in an economic and political context in which young people have become more uncertain and anxious about their long-term career futures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated intrinsic (psychological) and extrinsic (economic) new job characteristics for 516 involuntarily dismissed adult white-collar workers (12% female). The majority of Ss secured new jobs that were characterized as less financially rewarding yet more psychologically gratifying. However, prospects for reemployment were somewhat dependent on reaching emotional acceptance of the job loss, activity level following the event, how the new job was obtained, and the sex of the job seeker. Men had higher job satisfaction, salaries, and quality of work life than did women, regardless of job search method. Results suggest that employment counselors can ease the transition into satisfying new jobs by helping clients deal with the negative emotional trauma of job loss, by encouraging active coping strategies fostering realistic job expectations, and by tailoring counseling to meet individual needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes outplacement services to help laid-off workers secure new employment as quickly as possible. The Holistic Outplacement Model, currently being used by the North Carolina State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, consists of 3 functional elements: regaining equilibrium, career development, and job hunting. Regaining equilibrium deals with the psychological trauma resulting from being unexpectedly laid off. Career planning focuses on the future. Job hunting assists clients in developing their networking, influencing, and negotiating skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors conducted an exploratory study of male college graduates who experienced underemployment to discover significant events occurring during this experience and the feelings attached to those events.
This study used multiple methods to compare expectancy-value theory (EVT) to reasons theory for identifying specific factors underlying attitudes toward a planned organizational change. Reasons theory utilizes an accessible reason construct within a decision-making framework. Study 1 used the correlational method to statistically identify the strength of specific factors underlying attitudes according to each theory. The value and accessible reason factors demonstrated the strongest associations with attitudes toward change. The strength of specific factors was then manipulated experimentally according to each construct to examine the impact on potential change in Study 2. The interventions developed from expectancy and accessible reason factors were evaluated most positively by individuals in the target organization, with accessible reasons having the strongest effect. Unexpectedly, interventions based on the value and expectancy value factors had less efficacy in Study 2. Implications for applied research are discussed.
Behavioral decision theory suggests that the perceived favorability of outcomes depends on how they are framed. Recent research in the justice literature suggests that perceived outcome favorability and procedural fairness interactively combine to influence employees′ reactions to a resource allocation decision. The present study tested a hypothesis derived from the integration of these two literatures: that decision frame-by affecting perceived outcome favorability-would interact with procedural fairness to influence individuals′ reactions to the decision. All participants were layoff survivors; the primary dependent variable was their trust in and support for the organization subsequent to the layoff. Through a framing manipulation, half evaluated the criteria that the organization used to keep certain employees rather than others (Keep condition), whereas the other half judged the criteria that the organization used to dismiss certain employees rather than others (Dismiss condition). Survivors also evaluated the procedural fairness of the layoff. As predicted, decision frame and procedural fairness interacted to influence survivors′ trust in and support for the organization. When procedural fairness was low, survivors reacted more favorably in the positive frame (Keep) than in the negative frame (Dismiss) condition. When procedural fairness was high, however, decision frame had no effect on survivors′ reactions. Possible explanations of the findings, as well as their theoretical and practical implications, are discussed.
This review examines research published on job loss and unemployment from 1994 to 1998. Topics addressed include: (1) the prevalence of unemployment and recent statistics on displaced workers, (2) the meaning of unemployment, (3) the unemployment experience, (4) individual outcomes of unemployment, (5) coping with job loss, (6) the effects of job loss on family and on job survivors, (7) reemployment issues, and (8) intervention. Although significant progress has been made toward understanding the experience and outcomes of unemployment, additional research topics and extensions to research are needed and described. In addition, the review provides information that may help researchers design and practitioners implement successful interventions for unemployed individuals, their families, and layoff survivors in organizations.
Reviews recent studies of the social and private costs of unemployment. Although the experience of joblessness differs according to circumstances, prolonged unemployment is commonly a serious threat to health and the broad quality of life. These costs are borne not only by individual workers, but also by their families and communities. Research on unemployment has examined (1) associations between unemployment rate and indicators of strain such as psychiatric admissions and infant mortality, (2) ecologic studies of economic change, and (3) associations between unemployment and the demand for mental health services. The implications of this research for economic and social policy are discussed and contrasted with policy development premised on a benign view of unemployment. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Getting thin the healthy way
- Balutis A. P.
Outplacement services assessment
- Cowden P.
The challenges of retrenchment at executive level
- Critchley R.
Coping with job loss
- C. R. Leana
- D. C. Feldman
Over the hill at 50? Nope
- L. Light
- P. Wechsler
- J. Kaufman
Job benefits get personal
- Mergenhagen P.
Avoiding workers comp claims crush following layoffs and plant closings
- Wojcik J.
Employees, careers, and job creation
- M. London
The pink slip turns into something rosier
- Matthes K.
Over the hill at 50? Nope
- Light L.