This raises two large questions: How are these losses shaping the workforce of the future and what are the odds that being made jobless has any remotely plausible upside?
A QUIT-FRIENDLY WORKFORCE
There is of course plenty of evidence that the human toll of being laid off can be dire. The research shows it can increase the chances of illness and even suicide, while those spared the axe often face more work with less help, plus the anxiety of wondering if their head will be next.
But what if layoffs have become such a standard business practice that they are changing the nature of the workforce? That is what academics at the University of Wisconsin suggested in a 2015 paper that raised what they called the “new, and rather ominous, concern” of a more quit-friendly workforce.
“Our study suggests, all else equal, that commonplace layoffs may be contributing to a vast population of employees who are less likely to remain with their subsequent employers,” they said.
In other words, getting rid of hundreds of people at once might offer short-term cost-savings for an individual company but wider problems for others trying to hang on to flightier staff.
That finding chimes with the work of others such as Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, Jeffrey Pfeffer. He has written extensively about evidence showing layoffs are toxic for workers and not necessarily good for business because they often do not cut costs, raise share prices or boost productivity.
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