Perceptions of Organizational Downsizing and Job Satisfaction Among Survivors in Nigerian Banks

The object ive of the study was to determine how survivors’ perception of downsizing as financially effective, inevitable, and liberating for v ictims affect their job satisfaction. Data was collected from 150 survivors in 8 banks operating in Makurdi metropolis. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and regression were tools of data analysis. The study revealed that survivors’ perception of downsizing as financially effective and inevitable negatively affect their job satisfaction. Though the relationship between survivors’ perception of downsizing as liberating for victims and job satisfaction was positive, it was not statistically significant. The analysis of variance showed that there was no difference in survivors’ perception of downsizing among the banks studied, while their level o f job satisfaction varied. On the whole, we conclude that downsizing negatively affects the job satisfaction of survivors.


Introduction
Maintaining the right size of workforce is central to the survival of every organization. Emp loyees remain the most important resources of an organization and are key to gaining competitive advantage. There is therefore the need for emp loyees to be managed effectively if an organization is to survive [1]. As a result of changes taking place within the business environment, occasioned by globalization, competi tion is not only tough but fierce [2]. To co mpete effectively, organizations need to maximize productivity, increase effectiveness and imp rove efficiency, which entails cost reduction as well [3]. Since organizations find themselves operating in more co mplex, unpredictable, and dynamic environments, they employ different strategies to achieve their goals, with downsizing one of the favoured strategies [4].
"Org an izat io n al d o wn s izin g is an o rg an izatio n 's conscious use of permanent personnel redu ct ions in an attempt to improve its efficiency and/or effectiveness" [5, p. 70]. Th is i mp lies t h at do wns izin g is delib erat e and undertaken by organizat ions to reduce its workforce [5][6][7][8]. Secondly, organizat ions that downsize are concerned with imp rov ing o rgan izat ional efficiency and/o r effect iveness [9][10][11]. However, some research evidence [12][13][14][15][16][17] suggests that most downsizing init iatives have not been as effective in achieving organizational effect iveness and/or efficiency as originally expected.
Emp loyees who are unaffected by downsizing and remain with the organ izat ion subsequent to downsizing are known as survivors [18][19]. Since downsizing affects work processes wittingly or unwittingly [20], survivors have to adjust to the new forms of organization. Their ability to cope with the changes in the organization and perform effect ively determines the success of downsizing [21][22]. It has been observed that survivors confront difficu lt situations like work overload, wh ich causes fatigue and ultimately leads to dissatisfaction [3].
Job satisfaction has received serious attention in organizational behaviour research due to its potential benefits to individuals and organizations. For instance, it has been reported that emp loyees who are satisfied are productive [23][24], co mmitted to the cause of the organization [25][26][27][28][29][30] and less likely to exhib it negative work-related attitudes which are costly to the organization such as intention to quit, turnover and absenteeism [31][32]. Research on survivors' work-related attitudes however show that survivors exhibit a p lethora of negative attitudes and behaviours such as intent to quit, decline in organizat ional commit ment, loyalty and trust, feelings of job insecurity, and job dissatisfaction [33][34], [12], [35][36].
Banks in Nigeria have embarked on massive downsizing in recent times, with a view to ensuring more efficient management to enable them deliver better returns to stakeholders [37]. There is therefore the need to examine the effect of downsizing on job satisfaction of survivors in Nigerian banks. However, most of the previous studies on survivors' work-related attitudes, for example [38], [34], [39][40][41][42][43][44][45] were carried out in Western societies. It is therefore important to enhance our understanding of organizational downsizing and job satisfaction of survivors in a non-western country. The objective of this study therefore, was to examine how survivors' perception of downsizing affects their job satisfaction in Nigerian banks.

Literature Review
Downsizing constitutes a particular form of organizational restructuring [46]; it involves the reduction in personnel [6] and frequently results in work redesign [20] in order to improve organizat ional productivity [47], efficiency, and effectiveness [11]. Downsizing has been used to avoid bankruptcy and secure survival [48] and is co mmon ly adopted by firms after making large investments in labour saving technologies. Banks in Nigeria have invested in technologies as could be seen in the proliferat ion of ATMs and internet banking. This is perhaps one of the reasons for massive downsizing in the sector since technology has replaced most human jobs. Reference [37] found that downsizing has imp roved the efficiency and profitability of banks in Nigeria.
Previous studies [49], [4], [14][15], [50] have shown that downsizing is not a guarantee of organizat ional success. Organizations that downsize still perform poorly. One of the reasons for the poor performance of organizations that downsize is that too often, the focus is on employees who are released while those that remain are neglected. The thinking is that employees who remain with the organization are relieved for not loosing their jobs. These survivors exhib it symptoms such as low mo rale, low productivity, increased levels of absenteeism, tard iness, cynicism, turnover, dissatisfaction, among other negative attitudes [41].
The negative attitudes employees exhibit subsequent to downsizing is described as survival syndrome or sickness [38], [51]. Th is survival syndrome is defined as the mixed bag of behaviours and emotions often exhib ited by emp loyees follo wing o rganizat ional downsizing [52]. Organizations have often under-estimated the negative effects of downsizing and do not consider the difficu lties in motivating survivors to achieve greater productivity which is paramount to organizat ional success and employee job satisfaction [53].
Survival syndrome is exp ressed in increasing an xiety and risk aversion [54][55]. Issues relating to survival syndrome can be painful and far reaching at both the individual and organizational levels. Emp loyees often rationally understand and defend the need for downsizing but find it difficult to accept it emot ionally. It is therefore impo rtant to recognize emp loyees' career needs and educate them on the new organizational v ision and structure, while helping them process their feelings [56]. The feelings and concerns experienced by survivors are; lower morale; guilt and fear [57][58], lack of t rust [40], job insecurity; unfairness; depression, anxiety, fatigue; reduced risk taking and motivation; distrust and betrayal; lack of reciprocal commit ment; dissatisfaction with planning and communication; dissatisfaction with the layoff process; lack of strategic direction; lack of management cred ibility; short-term profit orientation; and a sense of permanent change [43]. As a result of changes in wo rk processes, survivors experience so me pressure fro m work and as a result are d issatisfied following organizational downsizing [3]. This suggests that downsizing causes dissatisfaction rather than job satisfaction since survival syndrome constitutes a mixed bag of antecedents of job dissatisfaction.

Framework for the Study
The manner in wh ich downsizing is imp le mented determines the success of the strategy in achieving organizational effect iveness. This is because employees' perception of downsizing influences their work-related attitudes following organizational downsizing [59]. The authors suggest that the criteria used in selecting emp loyees for downsizing must not only be clear and appropriate, but must also be perceived by all emp loyees to be clear, appropriate, and fair. This is especially true of surviving emp loyees as, according to [60], survivors are in a unique position to judge the fairness of downsizing and that they respond positively to this perception by becoming mo re committed to the organizat ion. Surv ivors are not only concerned about the outcome of downsizing but the rationale for downsizing and how it was done. In this study, we consider three ways employees perceive downsizing since perception affects their attitudes after downsizing [45]. Emp loyees may perceive organizational downsizing as being financially effective, inevitable, and liberating for victims [45]. These affect their work-related attitudes such as job satisfaction. On the basis of the framework for the study, the following hypotheses will be tested. Satisfaction Among Survivors in Nigerian Banks H1a: There will be no significant positive relat ionship between survivors' perception of downsizing as financially effective and job satisfaction.
TH1b : here will be no significant positive relat ionship between survivors' perception of downsizing as inevitable and job satisfaction.
H1c: There will be no significant positive relat ionship between survivors' perception of downsizing as liberating for vict ims and job satisfaction.
H2: Organizational downsizing negatively affects job satisfaction of survivors.

Methodology
This study adopted the survey research design since data was collected fro m the participants without imposing any condition or treat ment on them. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 180 layoff survivors in 8 banks operating in Makurdi metropolis namely, Un ion Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA); First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Eco Bank; Access Bank; Fidelity Bank; First Bank; and Mainstreet Bank. A total of 150 questionnaires (83.33%) were duly co mp leted and returned.
The study sought to determine how survivors perceptions of organizational downsizing affects their job satisfaction. Downsizing was measured using a scale adapted fro m [45]. The scale has sub-scales measuring survivors' perceptions of downsizing as financially effective; inevitable; and liberat ing for vict ims. This was measured on a 5 point Likert Scale anchored fro m 1 = "Strongly Disagree" to 5 = "Strongly Agree". The reliability of the scale was 0.680. Job satisfaction was measured using the job satisfaction index (JSI). This scale has been used with success among Nigerian samples. The scale measured job satisfaction on a 5 point Likert scale anchored fro m 1 = "Strongly Disagree" to 5 = " Strongly Agree". The reliability of the scales was 0.579.
Downsizing was considered the independent variable while job satisfaction was considered the dependent variable. Pearson's correlation and Regression analysis were the statistical tools used to determine the relat ionship between the independent and dependent variables.

Results and Discussion
Data analysis was based on 150 questionnaires that were duly co mpleted and returned. The demographic characteristi cs of the respondents shows that 95 (63.3%) were male wh ile 55 (36.7%) were female. Majo rity of the respondents (47.3%) were Degree holders, working at low level management (56%). The means, standard deviations and correlations between the variables of the study is presented in table 1. The correlations in table 1 indicate that survivors' perception of downsizing as financially effective negatively correlates with job satisfaction (r = -.165, p < .05). There was also a negative correlation ( r = -.84) between survivors' perception of downsizing as inevitable and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the table shows that though the relationship between survivors' perception of downsizing as liberating for victims and job satisfaction was positive ( r = .074), the relationship was not significant (p > .05). In order to determine how much survivors' perception of downsizing predicts their level of job satisfaction, the regression analysis was applied and presented in Table 2. The table shows that survivors' perceptions of downsizing as financially effective negatively predict their level of job satisfaction ( β = -.155, p > .05), similarly, survivors' perception of downsizing as inevitable negatively predict their level of job satisfaction ( β = -.063). There was a positive but insignificant relationship between survivors' perception of downsizing as liberating for vict ims and job satisfaction ( β = .087, p > .05). The overall influence of downsizing on job satisfaction shows that survivors' perception of downsizing does not predict their level of job satisfaction (F 3, 146 = 1.890, p > .05). We therefore accept hypotheses 1a, 1b and 1c. The correlation between downsizing and job satisfaction as shown in Table 1 indicates a negative relationship between downsizing and job satisfaction (r = -.091, p > .05). Hypotheses 2 is therefore accepted. This means downsizing negatively affects the job satisfaction of survivors. Previous studies indicate that downsizing negatively affects the job satisfaction of layoff survivors [3]. This is because layoff survivors often feel discouraged, fearful and have low morale due to downsizing. It has also been reported that downsizing does not improve organizations as a result of negative consequences [6]. In the same vein, [12] assert that downsizing may create negative outcomes for individuals and organizations. Table 1 further shows no significant relat ionship between sex and job satisfaction ( r = .055, p > .05) as well as no significant relat ionship between education and job satisfaction (r = .072, p > .05). Ho wever, there was a significant but negative relationship between job status and job satisfaction ( r = -.203, p < .05). There was no significant relat ionship between sex and perception of downsizing as financially effective (r = -.135, p > .05), education and perception of downsizing as financially effect ive ( r = -.158, p > .05), and job status and perception of downsizing as financially effective (r = .060, p > .05). The relat ionship between sex and perception of downsizing as inevitable was not significant (r = .056, p > .05). The relat ionship was however significant for education and perception of downsizing as inevitable (r = .180, p < .05), but was not significant for job status and perception of downsizing as inevitable (r = -.90, p > .05). The relationship between sex and perception of downsizing as liberating fo r vict ims was not significant (r = -.019, p > .05). It was also not significant for education (r = -.019, p > .05), job status (r = -.050, p > .05) and perception of downsizing as liberat ing for vict ims. The findings were somewhat in line with those of [45]. The result in Table 3 shows that there was no significant difference in survivors perceptions of downsizing among the banks studied (F 7, 142 = 1.822, p > .05). However, there was a significant difference in the job satisfaction of survivors among the banks studied (F 7, 142 = 4.138, p < .01). While survivors of Fidelity bank had the highest level of job satisfaction (Mean = 19.214), survivors at Mainstreet bank had the lowest level of job satisfaction (Mean = 14.888). The result suggests that irrespective of bank, survivors' perception of downsizing was the same. Ho wever, the differences in the job satisfaction of survivors among the banks indicate that survivors' response to downsizing depends on how the organization treats them. Overall, the survivors among the banks studied were not satisfied.

Conclusions
We conclude that survivors' perception of downsizing as financially effective and inevitable negatively affect their job satisfaction. Although the relationship between survivors' perception of downsizing as liberating for vict ims and job satisfaction was positive, it was not statistically significant. This means though that survivors are concerned about those who leave the organization as a result of downsizing, this is Satisfaction Among Survivors in Nigerian Banks not enough to improve their job satisfaction. On the whole, downsizing negatively affects the job satisfaction of survivors. Organizat ions need to adopt strategies to improve the job satisfaction of survivors since the success of downsizing rests on the shoulders of survivors who must provide both the core competencies and corporate memo ry necessary for moving fo rward into a new era of business prosperity. For suggestions on how organizations can cushion the negative effects of downsizing on survivors, see references [61], [6], [38] and [37].