Overall Layoff Fairness Perception and Laid-off Workers’ Turnback Intention

The large-scale layoffs following COVID-19 have shifted organizations' perspectives on laid-off employees. To facilitate post-recession recovery and growth, companies are increasingly considering boomerang hiring. However, research on the determinants of laid-off workers’ attitudes and post employment behaviors is still lacking. This study aims to examine the impact of overall layoff fairness perception on turnback intention mediated by residual affective commitment. Additionally, it explores whether company-led alumni outreach activities and engagement in alumni outreach activities moderate this relationship. The analysis of 230 Vietnamese laid-off workers indicated that residual affective commitment mediates the relationship between overall layoff fairness perception and turnback intention However, the moderating effects and moderated mediating effects were not significant. The post-hoc analysis showed that the mediating effects of residual affective commitment were found in the analysis with moderator variables as independent variables. This study contributes to the literature on layoff fairness by suggesting laid-off workers’ attitudes, such as residual affective commitment, and behaviors, such as turnback intention as subsequent factors of overall layoff fairness perception. Furthermore, by distinguishing between company-led alumni outreach activities and engagement in alumni outreach activities, it expands research on alumni outreach activities by clarifying the effects of these two variables. Lastly, it provides practical implications for organizations by suggesting that company- led alumni outreach activities and engagement in alumni outreach activities can enhance residual affective commitment and turnback intention.