ANN ARBOR—Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Comerica, Eaton, Clear Channel and many other American companies are announcing massive job cuts. Experts at the University of Michigan are available to discuss many issues related to unemployment—economic, social, physical and psychological effects.

U-M experts include:

Sarah Burgard, associate professor of sociology and epidemiology, is an expert on the health consequences of involuntary job loss, perceived job insecurity and nonstandard employment contracts in the United States. Contact: (734) 615-9538 or [email protected].

Burgard says that feeling insecure about your job takes a toll on physical and mental health, whether you actually lose your job or not. In fact, health effects of job insecurity are at least as great as the health effects of a serious or life-threatening illness, she says.

Kim Cameron, the William Russell Kelly Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business, is an authority on corporate downsizing and “survivor guilt,” as well as organizational change and effectiveness. Contact: (734) 615-5247 or [email protected].

Cameron cites a whole range of reactions that survivors report—anger at losing co-workers, disgruntlement at having to shoulder additional work, fear of losing one’s own job, even jealousy at not getting a lucrative buyout. He says that most downsizings have negative long-term results: profitability, quality, efficiency and productivity are damaged. Human factors like loyalty and commitment tend to suffer when workers are viewed as liabilities to be cut.

Richard Price, professor of management and organizations at the Ross School of Business and professor of psychology, directs the Michigan Prevention Research Center, which studies problems of employment, economic stress and well-being. He is an expert on the impact of employment and economic change on individuals and families, as well as personal and organizational foundations of psychological resilience and health. Contact: (734) 936-0476 or [email protected].

Price offers several tips for those coping with job loss: 1) Recognize that you already have a new job: finding a job; 2) Assess transferable skills and personal assets, as well as professional experience; 3) Mobilize support and help from others for practical assistance with job leads, resume-writing and transportation; 4) Plan for setbacks by anticipating them and preparing a game plan on what to do next; and 5) Realize that a job isn’t likely to last forever.

Donald Grimes, senior research associate at the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy, is an authority on employment trends, labor economics and economic forecasting. Contact: (941) 876-6422 or [email protected].

Grimes says that as consumers continue to spend less in a deepening recession, massive layoffs will continue, although the economy should begin to grow again sometime this year. Once that happens, Americans must address personal savings needs, a profoundly changing socioeconomic structure and an increasingly competitive marketplace. The bottom line is that education will continue to be the key to job creation and that high-wage, low-knowledge manufacturing jobs will increasingly disappear forever.