Page 53 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

may include a job for life or a right to continued progression (Guest and Conway,
2004). The consequences in redeployment situations can be significant. A recent
study indicated that mid-career individuals, when moving from a stable career
within a paternalistic organisation to an uncertain job market, showed signs of
disorientation (Clarke, 2007). They were unsure what they had to offer an
employer, how to approach job-search or how to market their skills and
experience.
The circumstances of workers being redeployed are also important factors in
shaping individual aspirations and abilities to manage their adjustment. Donnelly
and Scholarios (1998), in a study over a three-year period of four defence-
dependent companies in Scotland, examined individual experiences immediately
following the announcement of redundancy and in the course of attempting to
find re-employment. Individual experiences of support received, as well as their
success in finding a new job, differed significantly depending on gender, age and
skill level. The study also noted that the nature of re-employment by these
workers was typically temporary, part-time and lower skilled, highlighting
substantial skill under-utilisation. This was echoed in the SOCOSE project
(Kieselbach et al., 2006) which identified that:
‘The most vulnerable groups appeared: employees aged 40 and above, with
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low qualifications ( ), with very specific job experiences and long periods of
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service within one and the same company’ ( ). They found that ‘even in very
successful interventions there remained persons that are not transferred into new
employment’, adding: ‘that in all countries these were mostly composed of
women’ (p. 20).
While the present review has centred on recent evidence to understand how
individuals respond to displacement, it is important to consider previous research
reviewing periods of traumatic adjustment in the labour market and particularly
the use of career guidance and training in enterprises undergoing restructuring.
The understanding gained in earlier economic downturns is especially significant
(Jahoda, 1979). Watts and Knasel (1985) devised a conceptual framework to
consider the purpose and content of educational provision for the adult
unemployed, which they set out under five clear objectives to help unemployed
people:

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( ) For example, see the report of the award winning Leonardo da Vinci project: The social
partners and vocational guidance for lower paid workers (www.gla.ac.uk/wg/index.htm).
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( ) They have what is sometimes referred to in the literature as ‘firm-specific human capital’, which
may not be transferable elsewhere.

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