When the sea of empty cubicles begin to outnumber the employees, it doesn't take long before some workers' job performances will take a plunge.

The economic downturn has Fortune 500s and mom-and-pops alike making payroll cuts to keep their figures in the black. And while they might have balanced the books with layoffs, furloughs or cuts in hours, bosses increasingly find themselves dealing with more than just a shorthanded staff - they're left with an unproductive one.

According to a survey released this month by Globoforce, a human-resources consulting firm, 70 percent of the employees polled said layoffs and the...