( CNN ) -- There 's no question that losing your job can be a jolting experience , as anyone who has had the misfortune of being laid off in recent years can attest . But what if that jolt could be a positive experience ? That 's the suggestion to come out of recent research which looked into the experiences of laid-off mid-to senior-level managers in the United States and Australia . The participants ' overwhelming response was that the experience of losing their jobs in the previous 12 months had given them a renewed interest in living according to their values . The `` crisis '' of redundancy was in fact an opportunity to get to better know themselves , and reassess their priorities to lead more fulfilled , happier lives . `` All of the respondents , which surprised us , talked about the positives associated with this jolt of job loss , '' said study co-author Amy Kenworthy , a professor of management at Australia 's Bond University . `` These people took that jolt and focused on the positives of it to recalibrate themselves in terms of 'Who am I and what do I want from life ? ' It was counter-intuitive with what we thought was going to take place . '' Read more : Want to be a leader ? Act like one . Kenworthy said as their research was exploratory , and focused specifically on the experiences of those in middle-to upper-management , it did not necessarily represent everybody 's experiences . She said it reflected the way people could lose themselves and gradually become divorced from their personal values as they climbed the corporate ladder . Only a quarter of the responses from participants -- who ranged in age from their early 30s to late 50s , and nearly half of whom held doctorates -- related to feelings of self-doubt and cynicism , which the researchers had assumed would be the predominant response . `` It 's normal to be angry and upset and scared and frustrated , and to experience not only self-doubt , but cynicism about the process and the organization , '' said Kenworthy . Instead , the respondents expressed a desire to lead their lives with more `` authenticity '' and integrity , even if it meant forgoing corporate benefits or a high salary -- perhaps a luxury that former mid-to senior-level managers can afford . Their new priorities fit into three clear categories : the desire for a more balanced quality of life , with more time for family and friends ; more meaningful work which they felt contributed to society ; and job security and happiness . `` People said things like : ' I did n't realize how toxic work my environment was , and how important a criterion that should be ' , '' said co-author Suzanne de Janasz , professor of leadership and organization development at Swiss business school IMD . Said Kenworthy : `` All of them expressed a genuine desire to be true to oneself as they moved forward to the next chapter of their careers . It was everything from ' I want to spend more time with my kids ' to ' I know I have much more creative talent than I was able to demonstrate in my last job . ' '' Read more : Why we pick bad leaders . Two respondents had opted to write books following their redundancy . `` For many of us , at some level inertia takes over . It 's the comfort of the routine , the comfort of the expected . It 's hard to break out of that , '' said Kenworthy . `` The jolt of job loss may in fact be something that is very useful to people and there may be some very clear benefits to come from it . '' The authors said there were lessons for organizations from their research : that cutting back hours and salaries might be a mutually satisfactory way of getting through lean times , as it would allow employees to address their work-life balance . Where layoffs were unavoidable , organizations could offer affected employees workshops to help them to assess and prioritize their values , rather than simply update their resumes . More broadly , the findings were a useful reminder , as the times of economic uncertainty continued , that there was always a potential upside to a downturn . `` There is something we can take from the Chinese written language that they have understood for a very long time -- that crisis can mean opportunity , '' said Kenworthy . `` We do n't frame things that way , but maybe we should . ''
New research suggests that redundancy can ` ` jolt '' people into happier , more fulfilled lives . Being laid off can pull people out of their corporate ` ` inertia '' to reassess their lives . Participants in the research sought more meaningful new jobs in line with their interests . Researchers looked at laid - off mid- to senior - level workers in the United States and Australia .