THE EFFECT OF REPEATED MANAGEMENT DOWNSIZING AND SURPLUS DESIGNATION ON REMAINING MANAGERS - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY

I present the results of an exploratory study on the long-term effects of exposure to repeated organizational downsizings and being designat ed a surplus employee on survivors' coping strategies, job-related str ain and burnout, perceived organizational support, and organizational commitment. Participants were 38 managers employed in a major U.S. cor poration that had undergone a series of downsizings of its management- level employees. Downsizing exposure had little effect on coping or th e outcome variables. However, compared to managers who had not been de signated surplus, managers who had been declared surplus were less lik ely to engage in positive thinking and direct action coping, reported higher levels of strain and burnout, perceived less organizational sup port, and were more likely to remain with the organization because the y had to (continuance commitment). Caution is warranted in drawing str ong conclusions from the findings because of the exploratory nature of the study and the small sample size, but the results suggest that com panies may need to re-examine the practice of declaring employees surp lus especially if the surplussed employees end up remaining with the o rganization.