Abstract
Organizational downsizing becomes inevitable sometimes, for
efficiency improvement, productivity enhancement or cost
reduction. Using experimental type-retrospective study design, the
present research explores the impact of downsizing and its extent,
on survivors’ affective organizational commitment, work
motivation and psychological well-being. Disproportionate
stratified random sampling technique was adopted to collect the
data from 242 respondents from the four organizations throughout
Pakistan; two from secondary and tertiary sectors of economy each
with 60.5% response rate. As per results, downsizing has negative
effects on survivors’ organizational commitment, work motivation
and psychological well-being and extent of downsizing must be
limited to a predetermined level to avoid the deteriorating effect on
these psychological states. A positive correlation is found among
the three attitudinal variables. The difference of experiences
regarding survivors’ attitudes is also assessed sector-wise as well
as among organizations separately. This study provides a mean to
academicians, researchers, and policy makers to understand the
influence of downsizing and its extent on survivors’ selected
attitudes in secondary and tertiary economy sectors of developing
countries.
