Learning After Downsizing: A Case Study on Layoff Survivors in a Downsized Organization

Abstract

Organizational downsizing is a strategy that many companies use to save money and implement change. However, research suggests that organizations often lack the benefits they expect from downsizing due to the challenges the remaining employees, namely the layoff survivors, experience. One of the major challenges is that research shows that downsizing negatively impacts the learning and that gaps within learning networks are created. Yet, there is no current research on how layoff survivors learn in a downsized environment. This qualitative case study explored the stories of 10 layoff survivors who had just recently experienced a downsizing in one organization. This particular organization was selected as a result of their history of downsizing and the fact that they had experienced a downsizing within the last year before this study was conducted. A model of informal learning underpinned this study in order to fully understand the learning process of layoff survivors. Throughout semi-structured interviews, layoff survivors shared the events that triggered their learning, the learning strategies they used, and the lessons they learned throughout this experience. The major findings of this study suggest that layoff survivors do engage in informal learning through modes of self-directed learning and incidental learning. The triggers for learning include a lack of time, reallocation of work, and a loss of their learning networks. Layoff survivors shared that self-directed learning and high-level learning were learning strategies strategies they used, and that throughout this process, it taught them to be responsible for their self, as well as more efficient in the way they learned and worked. Individual factors seemed to facilitate learning, while organizational factors inhibited it. Findings suggest that organizational factors such as having no learning culture, changes within management, and a lack of strategy and direction all inhibited learning from occurring. Findings also suggest individual factors, such as self-interest and emotions, facilitated and inhibited learning from occurring. Overall, the learning process for layoff survivors in a downsized organization is a complex process.