Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations

4.3. Job Insecurity

Job insecurity was an interview theme that cuts across all levels and was discussed in all groups:

• "I go home and I wonder at night, am I going to be here tomorrow, the next day, or three days from now?" (manager)

• "I find it frightening. At my age, I would really hate to go out and walk the sidewalks. I wouldn't even know which sidewalk to start on. I think it's very frightening." (clerical employee)

• "I've come up through the ranks. I started in assembly. I don't have a college degree, and now I'm doing work [for which] other companies hire those people with master's degrees. If I was tapped on the shoulder tomorrow, and they said, 'Well, find a job,' I don't know where I would find one. If I went outside, I probably wouldn't ...