College and Research Libraries Reactions of Academic Librarians to Job Loss through Downsizing: An Exploratory Study Gloria J. Leckie and Becky Rogers Because of budgetary constraints, many academic libraries are undergoing restructuring and downsizing of personnel. However, this has been occurring with very little discussion of how job loss affects the individual library worker. This exploratory study examines the impact of job loss on a sample of academic librarians from Ontario universities. The paper discusses the stages that indi- viduals may pass through in coping with their job loss, and the stresses that they experience in dealing with their situation. The paper concludes with some recommendations about how sources of stress on individuals who are coping with job loss within the university setting could be reduced. ver the past decade, academic libraries in both Canada and the United States have been undergoing a process of re- trenchment, and academic library direc- tors have been under pressure from university administrators to streamline their operations.1 This often has been ac- complished through downsizing, in- volving budgetary cuts and concomitant organizational restructuring, particu- larly in the area of human resources. Downsizing usually results in the identification of positions for elimina- tion. Position elimination often is con- sidered to involve only permanent positions, but this is only a partial view of overall human resource restructuring. The workforce can be reduced by flatten- ing the managerial hierarchy, reducing the number of full- and part-time staff positions, and/or terminating ongoing contract positions (upon which many academic libraries have come to rely). Although the impact on the individuals affected is euphemistically described as forced displacement or involuntary redun- dancy, Carrie Leana and Daniel Feldman prefer the more general term job loss, defined as "any involuntary withdrawal from the work force, either by layoff or by firing. "2 In academic libraries, a growing num- ber of staff, including librarians, have been affected by these various forms of job loss directly brought about by down- sizing, yet the literature of academic li- brarianship is completely silent on this topic. Articles on academic librarians as staff members imply that once hired, trained, specialized, and developed, li- brarians never leave their institutions, or that they leave happily, willingly, and silently for greener pastures. However, Gloria J. Leckie is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 1H1. Becky Rogers is Coordinator of Systems and Access Services at the Stratford Public Library, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. This resl?llrch has been supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The investigators would also like to acknowledge the fine work of our resl?llrch assistant, Susan Vermeulen, whose contribution was grl?lltly appreciated. 144 through reports of downsizing at uni- versities across North America, we know this cannot be true. For the most part, the human face of downsizing in academic libraries has been invisible. This study was devised to broaden our understanding of downsiz- ing and job loss by exploring the effects on those who have gone through it, rather than on the institutions in which they have worked. While the human face of downsizing also includes managers who are put in the difficult position of having to implement these changes, this research concentrates on academic li- brarians who have experienced job loss themselves. JOB LOSS, STRESS, AND COPING This study falls within the scope of a large body of literature examining the psychosocial impacts of unemployment. Research on the unemployed first was undertaken seriously in the 1930s and was based on the classic study of the Austrian village of Marienthal by Marie Jahoda and colleagues.3 These early studies tended to focus on blue-collar workers, but some of the subsequent studies have also looked at white-collar workers and professionals. 4 Although this research sometimes has provided contradictory findings, two of the most widespread conclusions are that (1) job loss is a major life trauma comparable to death, divorce, and serious illness, and is therefore inherently stressful, and (2) there are stages individuals pass through in reacting to, and coping with, the loss of their employment.5 For this study, the definition of stress suggested by Stephen Fineman is use- ful. 6 In his view, stress is a psychological response state of negative affect, charac- terized by a persistent and high level of anxiety or tension. Stress is brought on by a stressor event that is perceived to be threatening to various aspects of the in- dividual's personal well-being. There are certain factors that can make unemployment stressful. Unemploy- ment represents a loss, and the process of coping with loss can itself be stressful. But exactly what is lost through becom- An Exploratory Study 145 ing unemployed? Jahoda has suggested that while loss of financial remuneration is often foremost on the mind of those who become unemployed, loss of other aspects of employment can be equally stressfuF These aspects include sharing experiences with others outside the fam- ily, associating with larger goals beyond one's own, defining personal status and identity, structuring time, and providing regular activity. For professionals, the loss of the iden- tity gained through meaningful work can be particularly devastating. Harold Kaufman points out that studies of pro- fessionals and managers have shown that they view their work as being more central to their lives than do other types of workers.8 Furthermore, for profession- als, there is a correlation between satisfac- tion with work and satisfaction with life. Thus it is not surprising that some research has suggested that higher-statw; workers are much more affected by job loss. 9 Unemployment also represents a time of uncertainty and unpredictability. In- dividuals generally find a state of uncer- tainty to be stressful, although there are some facets of uncertainty that are more stressful than others. For instance, there is evidence that individuals who are relatively at risk financially experience more uncertainty and more stress than those who are financially secure. 10 Re- search has also shown that the uncer- tainty, unpredictability, and the resultant stress of job loss can be minimized by fac- tors such as the strength of the individual's social support network. 11 People react to stress and stressful life events by coping, defined as a changing process directed toward managing both emotions and the problem that has caused the stress.12 Leana and Feldman put this a slightly different way, stating that people cope with stressful events by taking ac- tions to establish new routines. In the case of job loss, coping is an active attempt to "gain reemployment or to regain some semblance of psychological well-being."13 STAGES OF UNEMPLOYMENT Becoming unemployed is a very per- sonal experience.14•15 People enter the 146 College & Research Libraries March 1995 TABLE 1 STAGES OF UNEMPLOYMENT* Stage Title Stage one Shock, relief, and relaxation Stage two Concerted effort Stage three Vacillation, self-doubt, and anger Stage four Resignation and withdrawal Characteristic Reactions Shock, initial reduction in stress Relief, sometimes followed by relaxation (take vacation time) Anger, anxiety about future Optimism, still feels in control In need of social support Vulnerable to stress, particularly over finances High anxiety Questions career choice, ability Feels obsolete, out-of-date professionally Extreme mood changes, irritability High levels of frustration, anger Loss of motivation and self-esteem Feels loss of control over own life, helplessness Limited social relationships *Adapted from Harold G. Kaufman, Professionals in Search of Work: Coping with the Stress of Job Loss and Underemployment (New York: Wiley, 1982). situation with different belief systems and resources at their disposal, making it unlikely that two individuals will view their unemployment in the same way. Nevertheless, studies have demon- strated that at certain periods in the process of dealing with their unemploy- ment, great numbers of people do have similar feelings. These feelings have been identified as components of the stages, or phases, in coming to terms with job loss. Recent proponents of the phasic approach, such as Kaufman, sug- gest that there are generally four stages, but emphasize that the duration and or- der of the stages can vary. 16 The four stages are depicted in table 1. While many authors agree that the staged approach is valuable in under- standing how job loss is experienced, there also has been criticism of this per- spective. There are a multitude of factors that can affect how stages unfold for each individual, such as financial secu- rity, social support systems, previous job loss experiences, and personality fac- tors, as well overall job prospects within the larger economy. Furthermore, much of the literature in this area assumes that "individuals are relatively passive agents who [merely] ·experieru::.e unemploy- ment and its effects." 17 In contrast, Leana and Feldman suggest that individuals should be viewed as active agents who behave in ways that affect the outcomes of job loss, and who make choices about how to cope with this event in their lives. OBJECTIVES The overall intent of the study is to develop a fuller understanding of the im- plications of downsizing in academic li- braries by providing documentation on the impact of job loss on the lives of a sample of academic librarians. The pri- mary objectives of the study are (1) to explore how academic librarians react to and cope with job loss, and (2) to examine the institutional and personal elements that produce or reduce stress for the indi- vidual in this situation. The research was never intended as a complete account of the impact of job loss within academic libraries, but rather as a means of initiating some discussion of the human side of downsizing and fostering a greater sense of the dislocations that all of us may be fac~g as our economy transforms. METHOD AND SAMPLE The research was carried out in Ontario. Academic librarians who personally had experienced a position elimination (either permanent or ongoing contract) brought about by downsizing within the pre- vious four years were sought as partici- pants. The decision to include contract librarians was made in order to increase the visibility of this group of profession- als, many of whom have worked on a quasi-permanent basis for their institu- tions and who are increasingly vulner- able to the elimination of this particular form of employment. Volunteers were sought who would be willing to come forward and discuss the termination of their employment freely, without institutional involvement. An- nouncements were sent in the fall of 1992 and early 1993 to chief librarians and to department heads of nine university li- braries located in close geographic prox- imity, asking them to post or circulate the notice of the study. An advertisement was also placed in a newsletter 'that serves the Ontario academic library community. Eleven librarians, who had worked at six different institutions, agreed to take part in the study. Because of the small number of participants, con- cerns about anonymity were height- ened. Therefore, the description of the sample in the discussion that follows has been kept deliberately vague to avoid the possibility of linking any participant with a particular institution or locale. Drawing on the methodology of ac- counts, the study used open-ended per- sonal interviews that allowed each participant to recount in detail the cir- cumstances leading up to the termina- tion, the termination event itself, and the aftermath, focusing on the participant's thoughts, feelings, and actions at each stage of the process. 18 The interviews typically lasted about two hours and were taped, then later transcribed and coded for content.19 The participants ranged in age from the late twenties to late fifties, with seven people over forty. The majority of par- ticipants were female, and held an An Exploratory Study 147 M.L.S. or equivalent. About half the sam- ple had worked as professional librari- ans for twenty years or longer, and the most typical income range for the group was between $40,000 to $50,000 (Cana- dian). Eight participants had held per- manent positions and three had held ongoing contract positions. While the majority worked within their univer- sity's library system, three participants worked within large departmental li- braries not considered part of the formal library system. The average length of time spent in the eliminated position was between five and ten years. BECOMING UNEMPLOYED- INITIAL REACTIONS Upon being informed that their posi- tion was being eliminated, participants described being flooded with a variety of thoughts and feelings that progressed throughout the first twelve to twenty- four hours after the termination. The in- itial reactions of the participants differed according to their status within the insti- tution. Those who had permanent posi- tions had a slightly different reaction than those who were on contract, although there were also some similarities. Librari- ans who were older, had more senior po- sitions, or had a greater length of service had different concerns than younger li- brarians or those with less seniority. Since the severe financial constraints facing Ontario universities have been well publicized, none of those inter- viewed were totally unaware that job losses might occur within the institution. Despite this, most of the eight partici- pants with permanent positions were quite surprised by the way in which events unfolded and that it was their own positions that were vulnerable. Five participants were caught completely off- guard when the final decision to elimi- nate their positions was made known to them by their supervisors. For these in- dividuals, the termination event truly did represent a shock. They had diffi- culty taking in what they were being told, as two participants indicate: • When they gave me the news, it was a bit of a shock, but I didn't feel that bad 148 College & Research Libraries at first. I didn't hit the floor. I didn't fall out of my chair [but] throughout the discussion, the implications of it, you know, hadn't hit me .... So I went out and back to my office and thought, well, I better get back to work, but I soon began to realize [and] to become progressively depressed, beginning to realize what the consequences would be. • It was surreal. My memories of it are two distinct and separate images both running. You know, one being very serious about it, being concerned about my long-term career and the other kept saying, they've really done it! It was like a movie. Other participants immediately felt angry and/ or bitter that this was to be the outcome, but many noted that at the same time, they felt a tremendous sense of relief that the months of anxiety about what would happen were finally over. Although the three contract librarians were not as shocked at the news that their positions were to be eliminated, nevertheless they did feel quite upset by the terminations. Contract librarians are relatively used to living with daily un- certainty about their long-term future within the institution, although this in- security is often lessened by support from their colleagues who sometimes suggest that the contractual arrange- ment may lead to something more per- manent if one can just "hang in." However well-intentioned this support is, unfortunately it has the effect of cre- ating a false sense of hope that is dashed forever when the contract is finally eliminated. Although this is not quite the same as the shock of losing a permanent position, it still can feel devastating, par- ticularly if the individual already has worked for the library for a number of years. One contract librarian recalls: • I was just crushed, really. It was really difficult .... I'd been at the university for so many years ... and it was hard to think about not being there. But what I found really difficult that particular first night was knowing that I had to go back to work the next morning and ... act like everything was just fine. While the element of surprise may March 1995 have been different for permanent and contract librarians, individuals in both groups experienced the shock of the final decision in similar ways. To sort out their initial feelings in private, about half of the sample took time off, ranging from an afternoon to several days. During that period, these participants described feel- ing increasingly anxious and/ or de- pressed: • [I was thinking] What on earth is go- ing to happen? Because that is the kind of thing that starts to come on, you can't comprehend, sort of, not having a job .... And most of it was spent rehashing the days and trying to ac- cept the reality that this had really happened, and trying not to panic. IMPACT OF AGE AND SENIORITY Along with the status of the elimi- nated position, the age and seniority of the individual also appear to have an impact on the initial reaction to job loss, as other research also has suggested.20 Since over half of the sample had almost twenty years of experience or longer, worries about age and career interrup- tion surfaced almost immediately for these participants. Participants in their late forties and early fifties immediately felt great ap- prehension at what would happen to them as older workers being cut adrift in an economy where there is a trend to- ward a greater reliance on part-time and contract work. Some worried that they might not be hired by younger manag- ers, while others were concerned that given the state of the economy, they might conceivably never be able to work full time again: • When I realized this was going to hap- pen, I mean, there was no good trying to kid myself that I'm going to get a full-time job, maybe I am, but the way things look at the moment, I think it's very unlikely. 'Cause (a) so few jobs and (b) being much older. For other older librarians, however, foremost on their minds was the impact that the termination would have on their careers. Some immediately worried that their capabilities would be called into question, and wondered how they should handle this in future job interviews. There were also concerns about the implications of perhaps working at a lower level within the same library system and the loss of status · this would entail. Finally, some older librarians were worried about their skill level in having to compete with younger librarians who had been ex- posed to new technologies: • I really did not see myself as having any prospects .... I'm very experi- enced but, I'm thinking of pre-com- puter days, I felt that I was obsolescent in a very real sense in terms of trying to move somewhere else .... I was quite conscious of being part of a gen- eration that has pas~ed, so to speak. For younger or less experienced li- brarians, the termination was not neces- sarily less stressful, but they did have a slightly different outlook. Four librari- ans were either under forty years of age or had under five years' experience as professionals when their positions were eliminated. For this group, there was no- ticeably less apprehension about the long-term impact of the termination, and slightly more optimism about options. However, there was still concern about the economy, the possibility of having to settle for part-time work, and the stigma of being unemployed: • There is the perception that if you're not working, it is harder to get hired, but if you're working in a job, then it is easier to be hired . . . [It's] I don't know, some kind of stigma .... You always look better when they are stealing you away from someone else than if you are out there and you're not working. FINANCIAL STATUS Research has shown that the fiscal stress of unemployment has been con- siderably lessened since the inception of unemployment insurance during the 1940s.21 In the short run, financial con- cerns may no longer be as prominent for the unemployed, as Penny Swinburne found. 22 To a certain extent, this was also true in the present study, but may have been partly due to the age range of this An Exploratory Study 149 particular group, most of whom had been working for over fifteen years and had significant personal resources at their disposal. For many participants, however, the short-term availability of unemploy- ment insurance did nothing to alleviate the worry over what would happen when this support was finished. This theme permeated their efforts to cope with job loss, adding to the stress they experienced. Some had made financial commitments that they worried t11.ey could not sustain in the long run, while others were anxious that they might never return to a regular income and thus would be unable to replace major needed items: • I need a new car at the moment. My car is ten years old and going around the clock for the third time .... When it comes down to the bottom line, if you can't buy something, or you can't pay for something [then you really worry]. · Financial uncertainties were com- pounded by the impact the job loss would have on retirement planning. Most participants were either not quite close enough to retirement age, or felt they could not afford, or did not want, to retire. The loss of. their position and all that they had built up toward retirement was a real blow. Concern over this issue is certainly not misplaced, since there is ample evidence that Canadian workers with higher incomes are better prepared financially to sustain themselves during their retirement years.23 One participant, who lost a full-time position and was able to secure only a short-term contract, comments: • My salary has gone backwards $10,000.00 .... I would dearly love to retire by the time that I am sixty. That gives me ten years and ... I'm going backwards in pay every year towards my retirement ... So you start to think of all these things and wonder, should you get out? What am I doing fiddling around in this low-level contract job? But what alternative is there right now? Very few of the older participants felt that they could seriously consider retire- 150 College & Research Libraries ment as a financial option. However, par- ticipant #8 was financially able to opt for early retirement and felt a sense of em- powerment (and a reduction of stress) at being able to control the situation: • I won't say I didn't go through periods of anguish on this but really, once I'd made the decision [it was better] ... because it wasn't done to me, I did it. That is the real difference, I think be- cause I started [thinking about it ] as soon as I got the inklings ... It gives you a whole different perspective ... I think you get a different feeling about it and different responses from some- one who had it done to them instead of doing it. REACTIONS OF COLLEAGUES Besides the individual directly con- cerned, the shock of the termination also affects coworkers, many of whom expe- rience the same sense of disbelief as the terminated employee. One librarian de- scribed this by saying, "I think shocked and stunned fit most of the people." As well, there is also a growing body of literature that addresses the issue of lay- off survivor effect among the coworkers of terminated employees. 24 Survivors may experience a range of reactions, in- cluding anxiety, guilt, anger, and relief. For many librarians in the study, dealing with the unpredictable reactions of col- leagues added yet another element of uncertainty. Participants generally described two types of reactions by colleagues-sup- port and avoidance. The support and sympathy of colleagues was generally viewed as helpful, particularly in reas- suring the participants that the termina- tion was not their fault. However, coworkers reacting out of shock some- times became unusually demonstrative in their support, with the result that par- ticipants who experienced this felt ex- tremely uncomfortable and awkward. As one participant remarked, "The peo- ple that came up to you and put their arms around you and cried were the ones who were the hardest to take." The other type of colleague reaction mentioned was avoidance, which can March 1995 arise because survivors feel guilty about what has happened to their coworkers, or are anxious about the vulnerability of their own positions. Viewed from the perspectiveoftheterminatedemp~oyee, avoidance had the effect of making them feel isolated and targeted. Two partici- pants who experienced this comment: • I could tell there were averted glances, people not really wanting to look at you when they pass you in the hall because they knew and didn't know what to say to you. People who felt guilty because they hadn't maybe stood up for us more. Then people who were absolutely stunned, who thought, Oh God, I might be next. ... It sort of felt ve:r:y strange. • Some people were feeling a litt!~ badly because I suspect that on all the con- sultations that went on, they might have indicated that my position could be eliminated, and it was. There might have been a little bit of guilt afterwards. Another stressful element of dealing with colleagues resulted from returning to work to finish out the period of termi- nation notice or terms of the contract. The librarians in this study were gener- . ally determined to carry on with "busi- ness as usual." Although they saw this as part of their dignity as a professional, having to "pretend everything was fine" was a stress-filled deception in itself. Furthermore, participants who were managers had the added stress of having to deal with departmental turmoil over the announced downsizing, which often affected other staff members as well: • The very next day there was a meeting to tell the whole staff. And then I im- mediately felt I had to deal with them .... I called the key people and tried to say positive things about how I thought this was all going to work. ... So I was trying to reassure those peo- ple, trying not to focus on my problem. THE SEARCH FOR EMPLOYMENT AND ALTERNATIVES The librarians who took part in this study very quickly began the process of searching for new employment or other options (such as upgrading). The search process typically began within a day or so of having been told of the termination, often while they were still in a state of shock. Thus, for the majority of the sam- ple, stages 1 and 2 of the job loss event occurred in a parallel, rather than a chronological, fashion. The first goal of most participants was to concentrate their efforts on staying within the university system, enabling them to keep their benefits and pensions intact. This activity inevitably brought them again into contact with the univer- sity or library personnel department to ask for advice in clarifying various as- pects of their situation. Seven of the eight participants who interacted either with the university or library personnel de- partment had slightly to extremely nega- tive comments about this experience. Their comments centered around two is- sues-placement procedures for redun- dant employees, and a perceived lack of preparation and sensitivity in handling position elimination. Several librarians experienced a great deal of anguish at having to deal with their university's redundancy policy. The policies encountered by participants typically stated that redundant employ- ees would be given preferred treatment and that efforts would be made to help them find another position within the university. However, the policy and the practice frequently did not mesh. These librarians experienced being ignored by the very personnel departments that were supposedly assisting them. Partici- pants described not being informed of campus positions for which they would have been qualified, and/ or not being considered for even the most junior va- cancies (including library positions), de- spite having met the prerequisites. Although there are too few cases to generalize, these accounts seem to indi- cate that there is resistance within some universities to placing redundant em- ployees. For librarians, this is com- pounded by the fact that their skills and abilities appear to be undervalued and misunderstood by those involved in general university placement. For in- stance, participant #3 applied for a lower- An Exploratory Study 151 level, nonlibrary position for which she met all the requirements. The position involved liaison with students, dispens- ing relevant information, and working with a large database, all of which she had done for years as a departmental librarian. She was shocked and dis- mayed to learn that the interview com- mittee did not consider her to be even remotely qualified for the position. Participants also perceived that cam- pus personnel departments were surpris- ingly unprepared to handle redundant employees, and were insensitive to their needs. Several participants commented that the process of finding the correct information was made very difficult, as their requests were often shuffled from person to person, adding to the humili- ation and stress they experienced: • I thought what the university should have done was gather together every- thing about that employee's case and sort of pull it all together and desig- nate one person to deal with it. ... In fact, I had to explain the situation to any number of people in the organiza- tion. I kept getting answering ma- chines, I kept getting people who had no idea who I was or what had hap- pened, and I got really tired of explain- ing it. ... ·[I was treated] as a routine person leaving, and it wasn't a routine case, but there was no sensitivity to the position that I was in. For contract librarians, invisibility and lack of permanent status greatly affected their treatment within the system. While all three contract participants realized they were not eligible for the on-campus support mechanisms available to regu- lar staff, this struck them as being unfair, and left them feeling excluded from campus information and employment opportunities: • I was applying for whatever came up in the university system, but it seemed there was always someone in the wings waiting, and of course, I was considered an outside applicant even though I had worked for them for years .... Sometimes I would apply for an internal job and they wouldn't even acknowledge my application .... That 152 College & Research Libraries was hurtful, really, because you work for them and then you are just a no- body. While efforts to stay on campus were being made, most participants were also investigating off-campus employment and gathering information on other op- tions. This activity was constrained by the fact that all but one of the partici- pants interviewed had significant ties to their community, and wanted to stay in their locality. Nevertheless, within these constraints, participants moved forward in their search for alternatives. This meant plugging into established net- works of colleagues in other libraries to "shake the bushes" for upcoming vacan- cies, primarily within the local region, although several participants made in- quiries about positions that would have required relocation. It also meant fol- lowing up on job ads and going for information interviews, both of which participants did within days of their ter- minations. Other options investigated included going back to school, upgrad- ing computer skills through a govern- ment program, and starting a small business. A few librarians also sought information on the procedures for col- lecting unemployment insurance. Gen- erally, the efforts made by this group are consistent with findings from other re- search-searching for employment, seeking retraining, seeking to relocate, and investigating sources of financial as- sistance are among the most common strategies in coping with job loss. 25 SELF-DOUBT AND ANGER Kaufman has suggested that stage 3 begins a considerable length of time (possibly months) after the termination event. This partially did seem to be borne out by the librarians in this study, some of whom indicated that feelings of self-doubt and anger began to intensify the longer their reduced circumstances persisted, and in some cases even when they had become successfully reem- ployed. However, it should also be pointed out that some participants expe- rienced self-doubt at the very beginning of the process of coping with their job March 1995 loss, particularly if issues such as age were of concern. Self-doubt frequently was expressed by the participants in terms of their self- esteem or self-worth, which was viewed as being low or reduced as time went on. After a certain period, self-doubt even began to color their perception of the termination event. This was one of the most striking aspects of stage 3 reac- tions, as almost all of the participants remarked that they began to wonder if the termination actually was a result of their own inadequacies, and was not just a result of downsizing. Three partici- pants speculate: • You wonder if your reputation pre- cedes you and it's because maybe peo- ple think you were difficult to get along with ... or the fact that you were redundant in the first place is because you were a crummy worker or some- thing. . . . My feelings of self-worth have really gone up and down. Like I keep thinking when you have those disappointments [in your job search], you think, What is it? What is wrong with me? Why can't I get a job? Why don't they want me? • On the one hand, I felt unappreciated, and on the other hand, I mean, it does attack your confidence and your self- esteem, and whether you really have been doing as good a job as you'd thought you'd been doing .... There is this nagging doubt in the back of your mind, maybe they singled you out be- cause you were incompetent rather than the reasons that were given. • I was already going into the phase of doubting my own, not necessarily competence, but the track record I thought I had. I began to doubt-that it had been all in my mind and that it wasn't a real track record. Feelings of self-doubt were also fre- quently accompanied by anger, bitter- ness, and/ or frustration over various aspects of the downsizing, not only at what had happened to the indhlidual but at the perceived long-term effects of downsizing on the library and on the profession. Librarians who had worked for a large part of their career within a particular library or library system felt angry at what they regarded as the dis- mantling or reduction of the library they had worked so hard to build. This was also accompanied by frustration over what many librarians considered to be a dangerous trend toward deprofession- alization, particularly in the cataloging and reference areas: • I think what management wants is a layer of really high level management, and then a bunch of lower level cleri- cals. I don't think they want any of the technical people [librarians] in be- tween. The skilled people . . . [The catalogue] is our primary reference tool. And plus, everybody all over the world has access to these catalogues now. We have to make that tool as self-explanatory, and as reliable and as revealing as possible. We spend all this money getting it this way, why tht.:ow it away now? • [The library] lost a [full-time] position and then they cut part-time staff, and the budget, and acquisitions. So it was a whole bunch of things all at once .... I couldn't see how they expected the collection to stay at the world status that it had, and be their showpiece that they always bragged about it being. It's eventually going to come back in their face if they don't staff the library properly. LATER REACTIONS: FINDING THE GOOD IN THE BAD? The final stage of coping with job loss is resignation and withdrawal, terms which in themselves assume a certain pas- sivity. However, these descriptors really do not fit the later reactions to job loss as experienced by this sample of librahans. What was the outcome of position elimination for the participants? At the time of their interviews, three librarians were unemployed, either through inabil- ity to find another position or through choice. Five others had eventually moved into other professional positions on cam- pus, four as librarians and one within the university's administrative branch. Three ultimately had been successful in obtain- ing off-campus library positions. An Exploratory Study 153 Despite the fact that most of the sam- ple had secured other positions, the im- pact of the job loss experience was still very much with them. Participants de- scribed bouts of severe depression, feel- ings of anger and bitterness, and a recurring uncertainty about their self- worth and capabilities. Even after mov- ing into a new position, some librarians felt that their confidence had been seri- ously undermined: • I discovered after I'd been there about a month just how much the experience had affected me because I was ... very tentative about all the decisions and things which I would have done with ease before. I would now question my- self whether I should do them or whether I had the right to do them. • You get down on yourself and you think how come I'm not working and how must other people see me .... So now I am ... working reference, which is something I really like to do. That is such a boost, too, because ... they didn't have time to give me very much training [but] I handled it really well. So all this has built up my confidence [again]. Were there any positive aspects to job loss as experienced by these librarians? Despite all the stress that they had been through, some admitted that there were. Several went on to procure positions that were either more challenging or more suited to their career goals and lifestyle. Another took a temporary part-time po- sition which enabled her to add some valuable experience to her resume. Even for those who had not found employ- ment, there was still room for optimism, as indicated by this participant: • In a situation like this, if you're not completely destroyed by the whole thing, there's tremendous opportuni- ties. You get a chance to see different things. I find this very stimulating. You know, it's not all doom and gloom in my case. On the other hand, I could see if you were a single mother and you didn't have a job, you'd be suicidal. I just hap- pen to be very lucky, in that I don't have dependents and things that would change the whole picture. 154 College & Research Libraries DISCUSSION There is evidence from the accounts of those interviewed that the staged ap- proach to coping with job loss is still relevant in describing what happens to individuals whose employment is termi- nated. The participants recounted many of the same thoughts and I or reactions as have been reported in the literature on the stages of coping with job loss. At the same time, this study also supports Nor- man Feather's assertion that there is a great deal of individual variation in this regard.26 Some of the participants ap- peared to cycle through the stages rela- tively quickly, while others did not. It is also clear that most participants did not experience the stages in an orderly, chronological fashion. Despite the vari- ability, it does seem that a general aware- ness of the staged approach to coping with job loss is useful in developing our under- standing of what terminated employees may be experiencing in the hours, days, and months following a job loss event. Although accounting for the variabil- ity of individual reactions is beyond the scope of the study, some factors did emerge as being more important than oth- ers. Age is one such factor-the librarians approaching age fifty or older appeared to experience greater stress than younger li- brarians. Interestingly, this is contrary to some research findings that suggest job loss is the most stressful for those in their thirties, and that for those fifty or older, the stress of job loss is much less.27 Other factors which seemed to play a part in the reactions of individuals to job loss were the degree of surprise experi- enced, status of the eliminated position (contract or permanent, management or staff), reactions of colleagues, length of service in the university, and length of the participant's library career. While monetary issues are a central theme in much of the research on unemployment, the role of financial status in this study is much less clear. Although financial concerns were mentioned by all partici- pants, the impact that the job loss would have on the individual's career seemed to be equally worrisome for most. While March 1995 this may have been partly because of the makeup of this particular sample, it may also suggest that, as professionals, these librarians were strongly identified with their careers. The experiences of this sample rein- force the fact that job loss is extremely stressful and that dealing with ongoing uncertainty (of issues related to age, ca- reer, finances, self-worth, etc.) maintains or even escalates this stress. However, most of the librarians interviewed acted relatively quickly to explore options, un- derscoring the perspective that termi- nated employees are not passive victims but are actively coping by making at- tempts to give meaning to their personal situation and to exert some control over possible outcomes. CONCLUSIONS As academic and research libraries struggle to fulfil their mandate with re- duced fiscal resources, it is inevitable that various forms of downsizing will con- tinue, and that some library workers will be directly affected through position elimi- nation. Given such trends, what can be learned from this exploratory research that would be helpful to those in academic li- braries who are involved in this process? First, it appears that a basic under- standing of how terminated employees may react to the elimination of their po- sitions is often lacking, both on the part of managers and colleagues. A plan of action for dealing with position elimina- tion should be in place so that it is not left to the terminated employees to (1) explain the termination, or (2) reassure their colleagues, at the very time when the employee is experiencing shock and the onset of anxiety. The reactions of colleagues are also a complex aspect of job loss that should not be overlooked. The participants in this study found genuine colleague sup- port to be reassuring and helpful, yet coworkers may also be experiencing anxiety and may be uncertain how to respond. One possible solution to this is to provide guidance in this area as part of the professional development of li- brary managers, so that they can act as ~ ---------------------------------------------~------------------------------~ role models for other staff should such a situation arise. Second, the experiences of the librari- ans in this study point to a need for greater coordination between university units (such as the library or academic departments) and the university's per- sonnel department to ensure that redun- dant and/ or terminated employees are not left to fend for themselves at a time when they are extremely vulnerable. The most obvious suggestion here is that ide- ally there should be a personnel officer assigned to assist the employees in re- solving all of the questions they have about their situation. Furthermore, it is not necessarily true that personnel offi- cers always know what to do when in- teracting with redundant employees.~8 At the very least, more training would seem to be warranted. The accounts of this sample also sug- gest that the corporate culture of some universities is such that redundancy is not taken seriously, despite the fact that this is becoming (or threatens to become) increasingly widespread. Policies with respect to redundant employees were often ambiguous, and/ or were not im- plemented as written, leaving many in this study feeling that they had been treated unfairly. Contract and depart- mental librarians in particular per- . ceived that they were not considered for general library positions because they already were considered marginal and expendable. It seems that in many cases, clarity and honesty in dealing with redundant employees are missing ingredients. Academic libraries could exhibit some leadership in this regard An Exploratory Study 155 by ensuring that they are not merely giving lip service to the university's overall commitment to redundant em- ployees. Third, the research suggests that greater access to information on the im- plications of position elimination and job loss is desirable. Participants per- ceived a conflict of interest between their right to be informed of all possible op- tions, and the obligation of managers and personnel officers to represent the interests of the university. As one librarian was told by an outside contact, "Just remember who they are working for, and it is not you." Participants described feeling that they could not trust what they were being told, or that they were not made aware of all the alternatives. This would suggest that a third-party consultant should be made available to redundant employees to assist them in their information gather- ing and decision making. Ultimately, terminated employees want to be treated with respect and to leave their position in a manner that enables them to maintain their dignity, as Leana and Feld- man also emphasize.29 Ifleft to chance, this may not happen, leaving the individual to cope with feelings of bitterness and resent- ment, and the institution to deal with the added factor of ill will. One participant summed this up quite aptly: • The onethingtheywon't be able to say is that I didn't leave with dignity. I did not want to become the object of pity .... Organizations really need to work with the employees who are left be- hind in terms of how to treat the peo- ple who get dumped. Dealing with them as people is really important. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Ethel Auster, Retrenchment in Canadian Academic Libraries (Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1992); L. Christinger Tomer, "The Effects of the Recession on Academic and Public Libraries," Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac (New York : Bowker, 1992), 74-84; and Murray S. Martin, "Stagnant Budgets: Their Effects on Academic Librar- ies," Bottom Line 3 (1989): 10-16. 2. Carrie Leana and Daniel Feldman, "Individual Responses to Job Loss: Perceptions, Reac- tions and Coping Behaviors," Journal of Management 14 (Sept. 1988): 375-89. 3. Marie J ahoda, P. F. Lazarsfeld, and H. Zeisel, Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community (New York: Aldine-Atherton, 1933). 156 College & Research Libraries March 1995 4. See review in Norman T. Feather, The Psychological Impact of Unemployment (New York: Springer Pub., 1990). 5. Marie Jahoda, "The Impact of Unemployment in the 1930s and 1970s," Bulletin of the British Psychological Society 32 (Aug. 1979): 309-14, and Harold G. Kaufman, Professionals in Search of Work: Coping with the Stress of Job Loss and Underemployment, (New York: Wiley, 1982). 6. Stephen Fineman, "A Psychosocial Model of Stress and Its Application to Managerial Unemployment," Human Relations 32, (Apr. 1979): 323-45. 7. Jahoda, "Impact of Unemployment," 312-13. 8. Kaufman, Professionals in Search, 22. 9. Ibid., 23. 10. R. J. Estes and H. L. Wilensky, "Life Cycle Squeeze and the Morale Curve," Social Problems 25 (Feb. 1978): 277-92. 11. Feather, Psychological Impact, 61, and Kaufman, Professionals in Search, 35. 12. R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman, Stress, Appraisal and Coping (New York: Springer Pub., 1984). 13. Carrie Leana and Daniel Feldman, Coping with Job Loss (New York: Lexington Bks., 1992), 80. 14. David Jacobson, "Models of Stress and Meanings of Unemployment: Reactions to Job Loss among Technical Professionals," Social Science and Medicine 24 Gune 1987): 13-21. 15. Penny Swinburne, "The Psychological Impact of Unemployment on Managers and Profes- sional Staff," Journal of Occupational Psychology 54 (Mar. 1981): 47-64. 16. Kaufman, Professionals in Search. 17. Carrie Leana and Daniel Feldman, "Individual Responses to Job Loss: Empirical Findings from Two Field Studies," Human Relations 43 (Nov. 1990): 1156. 18. Jennifer Brown and Jonathan Sirne, "A Methodology for Accounts," in Social Method and Social Life, ed. M. Brenner (London: Academic Pr., 1981), 159-71. 19. Barbara Mostyn, "The Content Analysis of Qualitative Research Data: A Dynamic Ap- proach," in The Research Interview: Uses and Approaches, ed. M. Brenner, J. Brown, and D. Canter (London: Academic Pr., 1985), 115-45 . 20. Leana and Feldman, "Individual Responses." 21. Kaufman, Professionals in Search, 95-96. 22. Swinburne, "Psychological Impact." 23. Susan Crompton, "Facing Retirement," Perspectives on Labour and Income 5 (Spring 1993): 31-38. 24. David Noer, "Layoff Survivor Sickness: A New Challenge for Supervisors," Supervisory Management 35 (Mar. 1990): 3. Also Joel Brockner, "The Impact of Layoffs on the Survivors," Supervisory Management 31 (Feb. 1986): 2-7. 25. Leana and Feldman, Coping with Job Loss . 26. Feather, Psychological Impact. 27. Kaufman, Professionals in Search, 62. 28. Shirley Middlebook and Edward Clarke, "Emotional Trauma of Job Loss: How to Interact and Cope with Laid-off Employees in Distress," Employee Assistance Quarterly 7 (1991): 63-65. 29. Leana and Feldman, Coping with Job Loss, 137.