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

5.5. Resignation and Numbness

There appeared to be an increase in the sense of resignation and numbness, and one survivor seemed embarrassed to tell outsiders where she worked:

• "I think that when it first started I felt confident that things would get better. I don't feel that way anymore. I don't think my feelings about the losses have changed. I feel, I think, just as horrible as the day when one person loses their job as I did when ten thousand did, but what made me feel better then was I felt we were going to turn a corner. Things were going to get better. I don't think that I'm a pessimist at all, but I don't see any evidence that we're turning any corner." (administrative employee)

• "Twenty-five years ago, there was a real sense of group ...