to those of us who are "layoff survivors", read on:
Suviving a Layoff: You Kept Your Job. Now Keep Sane.
Survive the latest round of layoffs? Congratulations! Unlike your previous co-workers, you have both a job and higher rates of depression, more psychosomatic illnesses like headaches, ulcers and insomnia, and a nasty case of survivor's guilt. You've got more work and fewer co-workers, as well as the lingering suspicion that you might be next. "The anticipation of something is often worst than finding out you've been laid off," says Leon Grunberg, professor of comparative sociology at the University of Puget Sound. "No one wants to be living in a constant state of insecurity." Grunberg and his colleagues spent 10 years studying current and former employees at Boeing during several cycles of layoffs, mergers and companywide change. (His book about the research, Turbulence: Living Through Workplace Chaos, will be out in 2010 from Yale University Press.)
The Human Condition : Suviving a Layoff: You Kept Your Job. Now Keep Sane.