The Influence of a Reduction in Force on the Attitudes of Engineers

Abstract

The article discusses a study which examined the influence of a reduction in workforce on the work attitudes of engineers in the U.S. The study compared two groups of engineers, one of which was released by a company during a reduction in force while the other was retained. The company, a division of a large corporation concerned with government defense contracts, was involved in two layoffs during the 1970-72 recession in the country. To measure the specific job attitudes of current and terminated engineers, three scales were utilized: indifference; job involvement; and sense of duty. As measured by the three attitudinal scales, there were no significant differences between the terminated and current engineers.