From being sacked to being unwell: A conservation of resources view on the effects of psychological contract violation on layoff victims' wellbeing

Although there is a consensus in the literature that layoff can be viewed as a form of psychological contract (PC) violation, research is yet to examine how such violation impacts layoff victims' well-being outcomes including life satisfaction, sleep quality and psychological distress. Integrating psychological contract theory and the conservation of resource theory, we hypothesized a dual-stage moderated mediation model in which PC violation resulting from layoff is associated with three dimensions of layoff victims' well-being via worry. This indirect effect is proposed to be conditional on the level of social support received. Based on a sample of 252 layoff victims, we found support for the dual-stage moderated mediation model in which the association between PC violation and the three dimensions of well-being via worry was weak for layoff victims reporting high levels of social support. Findings contribute to our understanding of how PC violation is associated with nonwork outcomes.