Research Links Downsizing to Increased Risk of Death

By Crown Content

Employee deaths from cardiovascular disease are twice as high in companies where major downsizing has occurred compared with companies where cuts have not been made.

The detailed research has been undertaken in Finland by Jussi Vahtera of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and others.

Organisational downsizing may increase sickness absence and the risk of death in employees who keep their job. Vahtera and colleagues studied 22 430 municipal employees in Finland, who kept their jobs at a time of profound economic decline and organisational downsizing. After 7.5 years of follow up, they found that major downsizing was associated with an increase in sickness absence among permanent (but not temporary) employees. Though the number of cardiovascular deaths was small, mortality doubled, especially in the first four years after downsizing.

Major downsizing was associated with an increase in sickness absence in permanent employees but not in temporary employees. The extent of downsizing was also associated with cardiovascular deaths but not with deaths from other causes. Cardiovascular mortality was 2.0 times higher after major downsizing than after no downsizing. Splitting the follow up period into two halves showed a 5.1 times increase in cardiovascular mortality for major downsizing during the first four years after downsizing. The corresponding hazard ratio was 1.4 during the second half of follow up.

Organisational downsizing may increase sickness absence and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in employees who keep their jobs.

(Crown Content Occupational Health and Safety Bulletin. vol. 13, no 282, 3rd March 2004)