Fear of pending recession, workplace rumours cause layoff anxiety

A recent study has revealed that 48 per cent of employed American professionals suffer from layoff anxiety. Out of these, 34 per cent admit that the anxiety is triggered by fear of pending recession, while 32 per cent feel office rumours make them anxious. Thirty per cent are of the opinion that recent layoffs have led to anxiety.

About 40 per cent of employees in the US admit to having been laid off at least once during their career. Also, the effect of the Great Recession is still obvious in workers in the form of layoff anxiety, as 74 per cent of those who lost their jobs during the recession still feel anxious, of which 36 per cent are anxious because they fear pending recession. This is surprising since unemployment is only 3.6 per cent currently, the lowest in almost five decades.

About 47 per cent of employed citizens of the US do not feel they are prepared for a layoff. About 63 per cent people living on rent feel underprepared for layoffs as compared to 42 per cent of those who own homes. Also, 54 per cent of those without college degrees feel more unprepared for layoffs as compared to 36 per cent who possess degrees. Level of unpreparedness is more amongst those whose household income is less than $50K per annum (63 percent) compared with those whose incomes exceed $50K (41 per cent). Parents whose children are below 18 are more unprepared (53 per cent) compared to those without (43 per cent).

Surprisingly, more women admit to feeling unprepared for layoffs (54 per cent) as compared to men (41 per cent).

The Layoff Anxiety Study was published by CareerArc, an HR technology company dealing with social recruiting and on-demand outplacement, based on an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll.