How Procedural Justice during Corporate Downsizing Can Reduce Negative Psychological Impacts by Reducing Survivor Guilt

Abstract

In this study I investigated the relationships between how organizations handled layoffs and how the feelings of survivor guilt in individuals who were not laid off. I also examined the relationships between feelings of survivor guilt and affective commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors, and turnover intentions. Finally, I examined the role of survivor guilt as a possible mediating variable between how organizations handled layoffs and affective commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors, and turnover intentions. I found that the perception of fairness and clarity in how the layoffs were inversely related to feelings of survivor guilt. I also found feelings of survivor guilt were inversely related to affective commitment and positively related to turnover intentions. Finally, survivor guilt was found to partially mediate the relationships between perceived fairness and clarity of a layoff and affective commitment and turnover intentions. This study has implications for the reason organizations should be concerned about their layoff procedures and how they might improve their layoff procedures.