FIRED MANAGERS - EXPERIENCES FROM THEIR OWN UNEMPLOYMENT

This paper purports to enhance the understanding of stress and its eff ects on unemployed executives. The idea that unemployed managers perce ive and confront stress differently from their employed colleagues is addressed. A sampling of 32 unemployed executives and managers was tak en using The Stress Profile, to survey reasons for stress, coping abil ity and response to stress. The profiled samples were then compared to a comparison group of 367 employed managers. The results showed that unemployed managers, when compared to their employed associates, tende d to have less desireable family situations, more worries about financ es, decreased perception of self and self-coherence, decreased coping ability, and heightened emotional and behavioral reaction to stress. T he conclusion was that when dealing with stressors, unemployed manager s experienced a decreased sense of psychological well-being and coping abilities as compared to employed managers.