Effects of organisational restructuring on 'survivor' stress in information systems professionals

Abstract

When companies downsize or outsource, the organisational restructuring that generally takes place can have serious effects on employee motivation and productivity. This research focuses on the staff who remain after such an exercise - the 'survivors' - specifically the Information Systems staff 'survivors' and identifies changes in their occupational stress levels. A sample of 42 IS professionals, who had 'survived' organisational restructuring, completed a questionnaire which measured various factors contributing to their perceived stress. Analysis of the results showed that, where major restructuring had taken place, higher stress levels were mostly attributable to increased time pressures and work overload and, to a lesser extent, on role conflict. Interestingly, those respondents who had undergone minor organisational restructuring reported higher levels of job satisfaction as well as no increase in stress levels.