It started slowly but surely. With the slump of the U.S. economy, companies started downsizing first by the dozens, then by the hundreds. Today, thousands of organizations across the country have in one way or another had to perform some kind of cost-cutting measure.

And as unemployment started to be a new reality for many people, the ones who made the cut had to deal with the anxiety and fear of losing their jobs. This state of being tense and apprehensive in the workplace after a downsizing event is what research and analysis firm The Conference Board calls the “survivor syndrome”— a marked decrease in motivation, engagement, and productivity of employees that remain at the company as a result of downsizing and workforce reductions. It entails a series of complex psychological processes and subsequent behavioral responses.

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