Layoff prevention programs create new cause to worry
Samantha Sigmon
Issue date: 8/29/07 Section: News
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It is usually assumed that one will feel more secure about his or her job if they work in a place with a layoff prevention program, but according to UA research, this is not the case.
This research was submitted at the American Sociological Association, by Dr. Song Yang, an assistant professor at the UA Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. The research concluded that African Americans become more pessimistic about their job security in organizations with a layoff prevention program, according to the press release.
His presentation was titled "Perceived Job Insecurity of White and Black Workers: An Expanded Gap in Organizations with Layoff Prevention Commitment," according the press release. A job with a layoff prevention program "has made an explicit or implicit commitment to its employees to avoid layoffs, except in extreme circumstances," Yang said.
Yang's research is the first to investigate racial disparity and the perception of job insecurity in the context of organizational variations, Yang said.
"Race is very consequential to many social issues," Yang said. "It turns out race has been a very important factor distinguishing haves and have-nots in crucial work benefits."
To compile the research Yang uses secondary data; a combination of the 2002 National Organizations Survey and the 2002 General Social Survey. The research took six months from the initial interest to the final report, Yang said.
By combining these databases, he obtained 488 cases of employer data such as layoff prevention commitments, organization demographics and employee data for black and white workers concerning their perception of job insecurity, according to the press release.
"The statistical analysis shows that workers do not interpret employers' promise to avoid layoffs in the same way," Yang said. "Significant racial disparity occurs in such interpretation. White workers' anxiety of their job insecurity slightly alleviates, whereas black workers' feelings of job insecurity greatly worsens," Yang said.
This research was submitted at the American Sociological Association, by Dr. Song Yang, an assistant professor at the UA Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. The research concluded that African Americans become more pessimistic about their job security in organizations with a layoff prevention program, according to the press release.
His presentation was titled "Perceived Job Insecurity of White and Black Workers: An Expanded Gap in Organizations with Layoff Prevention Commitment," according the press release. A job with a layoff prevention program "has made an explicit or implicit commitment to its employees to avoid layoffs, except in extreme circumstances," Yang said.
Yang's research is the first to investigate racial disparity and the perception of job insecurity in the context of organizational variations, Yang said.
"Race is very consequential to many social issues," Yang said. "It turns out race has been a very important factor distinguishing haves and have-nots in crucial work benefits."
To compile the research Yang uses secondary data; a combination of the 2002 National Organizations Survey and the 2002 General Social Survey. The research took six months from the initial interest to the final report, Yang said.
By combining these databases, he obtained 488 cases of employer data such as layoff prevention commitments, organization demographics and employee data for black and white workers concerning their perception of job insecurity, according to the press release.
"The statistical analysis shows that workers do not interpret employers' promise to avoid layoffs in the same way," Yang said. "Significant racial disparity occurs in such interpretation. White workers' anxiety of their job insecurity slightly alleviates, whereas black workers' feelings of job insecurity greatly worsens," Yang said.
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