ABSTRACT: What is the impact of downsizing? As the studies below indicate, layoffs have a number of negative effects not only on workers in different industries, but also on their communities and the market as a whole. Although it has been said that downsizing can be economically beneficial to companies, the following shows that there are two sides to this issue. .

             Over the past decade, the workplace has altered considerably in terms of job stability. People have either experienced layoffs firsthand or directly known someone else who was impacted by re-engineering, downsizing, outsourcing or acquisition. For employees adversely affected by these changes or for those who do not completely understand why these changes are occurring, the effects can be very disturbing and impact both their personal and job life. .

             A variety of different industries have been impacted by layoffs, not only manufacturing. For example, hospitals like other companies and nonprofit organizations have experienced downsizing that has negatively impacted healthcare employees with varying degrees of psychological distress and poor health. In a 2002 study, Greenglass, Burke and Fiksenbaum showed that restructuring and its changes can result in lower job satisfaction and job insecurity. .

             The researchers studied the relationship between impact of restructuring, job satisfaction, job insecurity and absenteeism in nurses. The results were similar to earlier studies indicating that job insecurity can often have harmful consequences for individuals. Job insecurity has frequently been reported to lead to decreased psychological well-being (Dekker & Schaufeli, 1995; Ferrie et al., 1998). In a study of Finnish employees, Kinnunen et al. (2000) reported that job insecurity, which led to negative relationships with colleagues and superiors, was still being noted at least one year after the event. .

             The respondents of the Greenglass study, who consisted of 1,363 nurses employed in hospitals that were undergoing extensive restructuring, first filled out a self-report anonymous questionnaire.