| Abstract: | Shock, depression, anxiety, and lowered self-esteem are often regarded as concomitants of job loss. To test this belief, a study was conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center of men whose jobs were eliminated due to a reduction in the labor force (RIF). The entire group was surveyed by means of a mail questionnaire; and, in addition, eight men (a 15% sample) were interviewed shortly after the RIF had been announced and 3 months later. Designed to define more precisely the concept of adaptation and to identify some of the factors that facilitate adaptation, this study applied a conceptual model of transition to the specific event of job loss. The model comprises three main components—the transition itself, environmental support systems, and the individual—that are believed to determine the impact of a transition and adaptation to it. The stages involved in adapting to job loss are described. One of the most effective buffers against the trauma of job loss was a formal support system introduced by the organization. |
