The Impact of Job Insecurity and Job Degradation on the Sense of Personal Control

Abstract

I examine the effect of job insecurity and job degradation on the sense of personal control. Analyses of two waves of panel observations from a national survey of American workers reveal that prolonged job insecurity is associated with reduced personal control—and this effect increases with age. I also examine whether insecurity is associated with deteriorating job quality and whether degradation reduces personal control. Recent insecurity is associated with increased job pressures, while prolonged insecurity is associated with decreased decision-making latitude. I find no evidence, however, that changes in job quality explain the relationship between job insecurity and personal control.