Survivors of Organizational Change: A Resource Perspective

Abstract

The failure rate of organizational change and studies regarding personal turmoil resulting from organizational change indicate that even employees survive layoff, merger, or any forms of changes, they still develop symptoms of distress, cynicism, and work withdrawal. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model based on the conservation of resources theory to examine the effect of organizational change on survivors’ organizational identification and well-being. Moreover, we suggest that organizational change may not be as harmful for employees who possess positive attitude toward the process. We offer research propositions and discuss implications for future organizational change research.