Over the past weekend, she ran into a co-worker who was also laid off over six months ago. He painted a horrific image of the job market, which further panicked Rita. She tried to get reassurance from her boss about her job security, but he just seemed to give her the runaround.
Rita's quality of work is slipping, and she is preoccupied with her job security. She spends most of her time worrying and has been sick from stress multiple times in the past month. This supports the idea that managers need to understand the importance of emotions on job satisfaction and performance. It also shows how negative situations can build and create large issues at the job.