Changing life after job loss: the strategic role of professional reclassification in HRM

Purpose: Recent studies highlight a growing search for meaning at work, reshaping
employees’ relationship to employment. Yet little research has examined professional
reconfiguration after job loss or the role of HR practices in legitimizing these changes
within Belgian reclassification systems.
Originality: This paper explores the dynamics of professional reconfiguration after job
loss and proposes an original integrative framework to re‑examine workplace well‑being
and managerial roles, informing both individuals in career transition and the HR
professionals who support them from a sociology of identity perspective.
Methodology: The paper draws on a two‑year longitudinal qualitative study (December
2021–March 2023) of Belgian reclassification systems, based on interviews with
stakeholders (46), group interviews (2), and document analysis (24). Data were validated
through multiple coding using Corpus software and triangulation.
Findings: The research shows that professional reclassification goes beyond support,
becoming a framework for rethinking the meaning of work. Disillusioned with
contemporary work conditions, some laid‑off workers reorient their career paths and, to a
lesser extent, redefine the attributes linked to their professional identities.
Limitations: The first phase of data collection presents a social desirability bias linked to
the institutional context and convenience sampling. Furthermore, the geographical scope,
limited to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, should be expanded in future research.