Layoffs and Survivors’ Career Motivation

Hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers have been laid off during the organizational restructuring of the past decade. Although the laid-off worker has been extensively studied, until recently there has been very little research on the effects of layoffs on those who remain in the downsized organization—the survivors. This study helps to close that gap in the research by identifying the factors that help to determine the career motivation of survivors. It also provides practical advice for minimizing the detrimental effects of layoffs.