Special privileges or busywork? The impact of qualitative job insecurity on idiosyncratic deals and illegitimate tasks among hospitality workers

Abstract

This study examined relationships linking qualitative job insecurity (JI) to idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) and illegitimate tasks (i-tasks) for hospitality workers. I-deals are valuable arrangements, opportunities, or privileges provided to employees by their supervisors for which employees’ have negotiated for themselves and, thus, may not be available to all other employees. I-tasks, refer to employees’ perceptions that they have been delegated tasks that are neither necessary nor reasonable for them to complete. Leveraging the challenge-hindrance stressor framework, we proposed that employee stress appraisals mediate relationships between qualitative JI and both i-deals and i-tasks and that employee proactivity serves as a boundary condition of relationships between qualitative JI and stress appraisals. Results from a four-wave, time-lagged survey study largely supported our hypotheses. In particular, employee stress appraisals were found to explain relationships between qualitative JI and both i-deals and i-tasks. Moreover, employee proactivity moderated the relationship between qualitative JI and hindrance appraisals.