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'Your job no longer exists!' from experiences of alienation to expectations of resilience - a phenomenological study
journal contribution
posted on 2007-06-01, 00:00 authored by M Vickers, Melissa ParrisMelissa ParrisWe have entered the age of the contingent or temporary worker, the consultant and the subcontractor. Workers are expected to be pliable and tractable; to “fit in.” Being made redundant is also an area where modern workers are expected to be flexible and resilient. However, when these so-called “flexible” workers are told their job no longer exists, the accompanying sense of rejection and alienation can be excruciating. Stories of being made redundant were collected during an exploratory, qualitative study, using Heideggerian phenomenology as the methodological vehicle to capture the lived experiences of those affected. Focused, in-depth interviews were conducted with the ten respondents; nine men and one woman. The stories shared suggest that being made redundant is an alienating experience with respondents sharing feelings of powerlessness, shock, betrayal, shame and social isolation. Unfortunately, those having experienced redundancy were also not as resilient as is routinely assumed. They did not “bounce back” unchanged, but reported significant negative outcomes including fear for the future, underemployment, family disruptions and an erosion of trust. Recommendations are made orienting organisations towards a more human process of redundancy.
History
Journal
Employee responsibilities and rights journalVolume
19Issue
2Pagination
113 - 125Publisher
SpringerLocation
New York, N.Y.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0892-7545eISSN
1573-3378Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2007, Springer Science + Business Media, LLCUsage metrics
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