When employees feel unfairly dismissed: Introducing the ‘locus of harm’ in Australian employees’ experiences

When employees feel unfairly dismissed: Introducing the ‘locus of harm’ in Australian employees’ experiences

Delving into the experiences of Australian employees who were involuntarily dismissed from their jobs and lodged an unfair dismissal claim, this paper reports on the psychosocial, professional, and tangible harms of job loss, which can evolve into persistent residual effects for some individuals. Using a reflexive thematic analysis, we developed the ‘locus of harm’ framework, which categorises the potential sources of harm inflicted by unfair dismissal on an employee into two key categories: an institutional locus of harm and an identity locus of harm. The institutional locus of harm includes subcategories of organisational toxicity, human resource management system failures, and managerial gaslighting, while the identity locus of harm encompasses subcategories of reputational damage, material damage, and psychosocial injury. This framework provides a comprehensive explanation of the temporally occurring consequences of dismissal and the players involved in each element of harm. This paper offers insights to guide efforts in minimising these harms across different stages of the dismissal experience.