RESEARCH_FILE
David M. Noer
Center for Creative Leadership
Known for:Author of 'Healing the Wounds' (1993), the foundational practitioner-research account of layoff survivor sickness — the consistent cluster of guilt, anxiety, reduced risk-taking, and free-floating anger that follows surviving a layoff in a downsized organization
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Why did they keep me and not them?”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“There is no answer that makes this feel clean. That's a feature of the situation, not evidence I'm missing something.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Write down three things that happened at work in the past week without adding 'but' or 'sorry' or 'I know I don't deserve this.' Read it back. Notice what you said without qualification.
Key findings
- 1993
Drawing on interviews and consulting work across thousands of downsized employees, Noer documented that layoff survivors consistently exhibit a syndrome of symptoms — guilt, anxiety, anger, depression, reduced risk-taking, and a contracted time horizon — that he termed 'layoff survivor sickness.' He argued that most organizations address the economic dimension of downsizing while ignoring the psychological damage that undermines the productivity of those who remain. Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations ↗