The change in psychological and emotional states of managers pre- and post-retrenchment, including leadership style

Abstract

There is an abundance of literature on models of coping with the loss of employment. The present study adopts the specific of a study by Ribton-Turner and de Bruin (2006), who investigated stressors and support relating to unemployed, mid-career adults. In their study, Ribton-Turner and de Bruin (2006) interviewed six individuals who had lost their employment. These individuals suggested that a potential area for further research would be to investigate whether the re-employed person returns to his or her previous state of functioning and whether the experience of ongoing stress scars the affected individual. This research also examines whether mid-life adults return to their emotional and mental state prior to experiencing unemployment. The method of data collection consists of 16 phenomenological, qualitative interviews with upper management in the construction and manufacturing industries in South Africa. In the interviews, the participants were asked to relate their stories of being unemployed and to share their most critical experiences. The participants were asked how the experience of retrenchment had changed the way they conducted themselves in their various management roles. A criterion for selecting interviewees was that they should have been re-employed for at least for six months. The study revealed that interviewed managers believed their management style had become more compassionate and they now tended to have a new, enriched view on family life. Some of the managers reported that they experienced difficulties in building trusting relationships with their new employers and that they were fearful of experiencing another retrenchment. The management style of these re-employed managers can appropriately be described as a servant-leadership management style.

To cite: Bester, W. & Kader, A. (2018). The change in psychological and emotional states of managers pre- and post-retrenchment, including leadership style. Journal of Management & Administration (2018/2), 1–29. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-128d8931f9