Negative Effects Of Job Insecurity Research Articles

The promise of flexicurity: Can employment and income security mitigate the negative effects of job insecurity?

Flexicurity is an integral part of the EU Employment Strategy. Flexicurity promises that it is possible to simultaneously provide organisations with greater flexibility and offer workers the necessary level of security. This is achieved by replacing job security, which stems from a permanent employment contract, with employment and income security. The aim of this article is to present an individual-level investigation of the relationships between various elements of flexicurity, examining how they affect psychological well-being and job satisfaction. A heterogeneous sample of 432 adults employed under various types of employment arrangements participated in the study. The results showed that the type of employment arrangement was the main predictor of perceived job insecurity. Moreover, perceived job insecurity mediated the relationship between employment arrangement and psychological outcomes. Finally, employment and income security failed to mitigate the negative effect of job insecurity. The promise of flexicurity is therefore called into question.

Facing education reform: Change-related self-efficacy is linked to job insecurity via appraisal

Structural education reforms may pose a threat to teachers’ employment, leading to anxiety about the future of their jobs. This study examined the antecedents of job insecurity among Polish teachers ( N = 860) who had been subjected to rapid and major structural education reform in 2017. While previous studies have focused on self-efficacy as a buffer against the negative consequences of job insecurity, here the authors hypothesize that a higher change-related self-efficacy is linked to lower job insecurity via stress appraisal. The results show that self-efficacy is more strongly linked to lower hindrance appraisal than to higher challenge appraisal. Strengthening change-related self-efficacy as a personal resource and attenuating perceptions of change as a hindrance are vital steps in minimizing job insecurity and its effects.

Job insecurity fluctuations and support towards Italian precarious schoolteachers

PurposeThe negative consequences of job insecurity on the well-being of individuals are well known. However, the perceptions of job insecurity over time and how some factors such as social support may affect them have received limited attention. This study follows precarious schoolteachers for three weeks before the end of their contract to explore how their perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time.Design/methodology/approachThe participants were 47 precarious schoolteachers who first completed a general questionnaire, then a diary survey on nine occasions over the course of the three weeks. Data was analysed with MPLUS 7.3.FindingsThe results suggest intra-individual differences regarding the way job insecurity was perceived over time. An additional discovery was that support provided by the school principal was negatively related to changes in job insecurity over time.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small sample size, which includes only precarious schoolteachers, and the methodology complexity of the diary are limitations of this study.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the subjective nature of the perceptions of job insecurity. It also shows the importance of the school principal's social support towards precarious schoolteachers; therefore, practitioners should propose interventions to enhance the quality of principal–teachers relationships.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by investigating how perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time and the role of social support.

Moderating Effects of Charismatic and Servant Leadership on Employee Wellbeing and Retention in M&As

Employee concerns with regard to job (in)security have been associated with reduced physical health and job withdrawal. Past research establishes that mergers and acquisitions fail when leaders do not address the psychological effects of transformation processes, reflected in perceived job insecurity, on employees. We argue that employees tend to look to their leaders for support and reassurance during times of transition and change and two types of leadership—charismatic leadership and servant leadership—can serve a protective function for employees and reduce the negative effects of job insecurity. Data for this study were obtained from a medium-sized high-tech consulting company during a merger process. Perceived job insecurity, leadership as well as emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions were collected at two separate time points. In addition, objective data on sickness absence and actual turnover were available. Results provided support for the hypothesized model, in which perceived job insecurity enhanced emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions, culminating in sickness absence and actual turnover. As expected, charismatic leadership buffered against these negative outcomes. In contrast to our prediction, servant leadership even increased the detrimental effects of perceived job insecurity. Our discussion focuses on theoretical and practical implications of these results.

When do job-insecure employees keep performing well? The buffering roles of help and prosocial motivation in the relationship between job insecurity, work engagement, and job performance

Drawing on the job demands-resources model, this study aims to explore the boundary conditions that buffer the negative effect of job insecurity on work engagement and job performance. It is predicted that job insecurity is negatively associated with job performance by undermining work engagement. This relationship is proposed to weaken when employees give and receive help arising from prosocial motivation. To test these propositions, we conducted two cross-sectional studies in the South Korean service sector, which demonstrated a similar pattern of results. Work engagement significantly mediated the link between job insecurity and job performance. We further found a significant three-way interaction between job insecurity, giving help, and prosocial motivation on work engagement such that the negative relationship between job insecurity and work engagement was weakest when employees’ help-giving and prosocial motivation were both high. The indirect effect of job insecurity on job performance through work engagement was also weakest for high levels of help-giving and prosocial motivation. Contrary to our prediction, we found no support for the three-way interaction between job insecurity, receiving help, and prosocial motivation on work engagement as well as on the indirect effect on job performance through work engagement. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for managing employees in job-insecurity contexts.

Explaining the relationship between job insecurity and creativity

PurposeDespite a large body of literature on the negative consequences of job insecurity, one outcome – job creativity – has received relatively scant attention. While initial studies established a relationship between job insecurity and creativity, the explanatory mechanisms for this relationship have yet to be fully explored. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachUsing threat-rigidity theory and broaden-and-build theory as a conceptual foundation, the authors implemented a two-country temporally lagged research design (the USA (n = 390); China (n = 346)) to test two potential mediating mechanisms – cognitive failures and positive job-related affect – as explanatory variables between quantitative and qualitative forms of job insecurity and self- and other-rated measures of creative performance.FindingsResults from both countries suggest that job-related affective well-being and employee cognitive failures both explained the relationship between job insecurity and creative performance. However, affective well-being was a better explanatory variable for the relation between job insecurity and self-rated creative performance, whereas cognitive failures better accounted for the relationship between job insecurity and performance on an idea generation task.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors discuss the implications of these findings from measurement, theoretical and practical perspectives.Originality/valueThe authors extend prior research on the relationship between job insecurity and creativity by: considering both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, examining their relationships with both self- and other-rated assessments of creative job performance, and testing cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms explaining these relationships.

Can Gossip Buffer the Effect of Job Insecurity on Workplace Friendships?

Although previous research has documented a host of negative consequences of job insecurity, workplace interpersonal relationships have rarely been considered. This omission might be caused by the application of broad stress theories to the job insecurity literature without taking a nuanced perspective to understand the nature of job insecurity. To address this issue, we conceptualized job insecurity as a threat to employee social acceptance by their employer. This conceptualization, therefore, allows us to apply the multimotive model of social rejection to investigate a previously-overlooked outcome of job insecurity—workplace friendships. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between both job feature insecurity and job loss insecurity with workplace friendships. Based on stress coping theory and the fundamental differences between job feature insecurity and job loss insecurity, we further proposed that employees’ tendency to engage in positive gossip buffers the negative impact of job feature insecurity on workplace friendships, whereas employees’ tendency to engage in negative gossip buffers the negative impact of job loss insecurity on workplace friendships. Data collected from 286 working adults from Mturk supported our hypotheses. Our study opens the door for future research to take a more nuanced approach when examining nontraditional consequences of job insecurity.

THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT IN JOB INSECURITY AND PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT In this study, we develop a conceptual model of the relationship between job insecurity and job performance, which is mediated by affective organizational commitment and moderated via perceived organizational support in a Chilean company that has undergone downsizing. In this cross-sectional study, we focused on 400 Chilean employees from the retail sector. Our findings indicate that job insecurity negatively influences job performance, which is a relationship that is partially mediated by effective organizational commitment. Moreover, a high level of perceived organizational support helped intensify the effects of the relationship between job insecurity and affective organizational commitment. To minimize the negative effects of job insecurity on the active employees of a downsizing strategy, an effective intervention is required by developing a more realistic communication in terms of a worker's expectations toward the organization.

Do Co‐Worker Conflicts Enhance Daily Worries about Job Insecurity: A Diary Study

The long‐term negative consequences of job insecurity on employees’ health and well‐being have been demonstrated by several studies, but there is very little evidence on the daily experience of job insecurity and on the factors that may influence it. Therefore, we investigated whether short‐term changes occur in the experience of job insecurity and whether these are influenced by daily co‐worker conflicts. We carried out a diary study, in which 66 employees answered a questionnaire over the course of five working days. We conducted a multilevel analysis in which we included co‐worker conflicts as a predictor, and type of contract, emotional stability, and aggregated job insecurity perceptions as control variables. Our results revealed that job insecurity varies on a daily level, and that 23 per cent of the variance could be explained at a within‐person level. Co‐worker conflicts were a significant positive predictor for perceived job insecurity in subsequent days after controlling for aggregated job insecurity perceptions at person level. Reversed causation was not found. Practical implications for organisations should focus on the promotion of positive social relations in the work environment in order to mitigate or avoid the negative consequences of social stressors in uncertain times.

A self-consistency motivation analysis of employee reactions to job insecurity: The roles of organization-based self-esteem and proactive personality

Despite consistent evidence that job insecurity has negative effects on employee outcomes, further investigation into the mechanisms underpinning these influences remains desired. The psychological contract perspective may not be adequate to explain the negative effect of job insecurity, especially when considering the trend of proactive perspective for work. To extend explanations beyond the psychological contract theory and invoke a self-consistency motivational argument, we propose that employees' self-evaluation of their worth within an organization (i.e., organization-based self-esteem, OBSE) can incrementally explain the negative influence of job insecurity. Furthermore, we hypothesize that job insecurity would more strongly impair employees' OBSE for those who have more proactive personalities, resulting in more negative influences on their job performance and affective commitment. Tests of related hypotheses, with a sample of 176 subordinate–supervisor dyads from China, support our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

호텔종사원의 고용불안이 고객지향성에 미치는 영향

This study was conducted to investigate whether grit positively influences the negative effects of job insecurity on hotel employees' customer orientation. A total of 243 questionnaires were used for analysis, collected from 5- and 4-star hotel employees in Seoul. Multiple regression analysis was performed in three stages, with demographic variables that could affect job insecurity, grit, and customer orientation as control variables. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, job insecurity had a negative effect on customer orientation. Second, when considering job insecurity and grit at the same time, job insecurity did not have a significant effect on customer orientation, but grit had a positive effect. Third, grit played a moderating role in reducing the negative impact of job insecurity on customer orientation. Fourth, employees with a lot of work experience and employees who had joined the labor union had high job security and customer orientation. Fifth, grit was correlated only with employment type among demographic variables. In other words, the grit of non-regular workers was higher than that of full-time employees. Based on the contents of this study, academic implications and practical implications are suggested.

Always looking for something better? The impact of job insecurity on turnover intentions: Do employables and irreplaceables react differently?

This study contributes to the current research on the effect of job insecurity on turnover intentions by examining what happens to employees when job security is replaced with employment security. It analyzes whether perceived employability and irreplaceability (a) increase or decrease turnover intentions, or (b) buffer or intensify the negative effects of job insecurity on turnover intentions. The study focuses on an international context by using International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data to assess the generalizability of the results. The findings show that perceived job insecurity increases turnover intentions in all countries. In addition, perceived employability increases turnover intentions in most countries, whereas weak evidence suggests that employees who feel irreplaceable are less likely to have turnover intentions. The results on the question about whether employees who feel employable or irreplaceable react differently to job insecurity – with respect to turnover intentions – vary widely between countries, and so a general conclusion about buffering effects cannot be drawn.

Always bad for creativity? An affect-based model of job insecurity and the moderating effects of giving support and receiving support

Drawing on an overarching framework of transactional stress theory, in this article the authors develop and test a theoretical model specifying the affect-based relationships between job insecurity and employee creativity, as well as the buffering role of giving support and receiving support in the affective processes. Results from a sample of 569 employees showed that job insecurity had offsetting indirect links with employee creativity through attentiveness and irritation. Both giving support and receiving support reduce the negative effect of job insecurity on employee creativity because they both weaken the negative link between job insecurity and irritation. It was also found that receiving support enhanced the positive relationship between job insecurity and attentiveness. Implications of the results to theory and practice are discussed.

Bending without breaking: A two-study examination of employee resilience in the face of job insecurity.

Job insecurity is a ubiquitous threat that has been linked to a number of undesirable emotional, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Against this backdrop, popular and academic accounts have hailed the ability to bounce back from threats (i.e., resilience) as a crucial competency. We leverage the cognitive-relational model of stress to examine the extent to which resilience (operationalized as both dispositional tendencies and coping strategies) mitigates several negative consequences of job insecurity. We tested the moderating role of resilience in 2 studies. In a cross-sectional study with a sample of 1,071 university employees in the United States, we found resilience weakened the relationships between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and psychological contract breach. In a 2-wave study with 335 employees demographically representative of working population of the United States, we found that resilience mitigated the negative consequences of job insecurity on emotional exhaustion and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors assessed 1 month later. Results of both studies converge to support the proposed buffering effect of resilience during times of job insecurity. (PsycINFO Database Record

Effect of job insecurity on frontline employee’s performance

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to extend the knowledge of the link between job insecurity and job performance by exploring potential mediating mechanism of psychological strains and moderation role of psychological advantages on the mentioned relationship in the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 288 frontline employees from five and four star hotels in north Cyprus was selected through judgmental sampling. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the research model, and hierarchal multiple regression was used to test forwarded hypotheses.FindingsThe results showed that Job Insecurity mitigates Job Performance. The results further suggested that anxiety, as a psychological strain, mediates the effect of job insecurity on job performance. Additionally, psychological advantages (supervisor support and intrinsic motivation) play a crucial role as a delimiter against the negative effect of job insecurity on job performance.Research limitations/implicationsHotel managers need to establish and communicate transparent human resource polices including, win-win-based employee contracts, fair selection, placement, appraisal, compensation, reward and similar human resource systems within hotels. Empowering and developing relations skills between supervisors and employees by providing continued training programs are vital for minimizing organizational stress and anxiety from job insecurity. Keeping in mind high employee turnover rates in the industry and its considerable costs, especially intrinsically motivated employees willing to work long hours should be selected in those organizations. Additionally, buddy-buddy approach in mentoring can be used by well-selected senior employees to help new employees socialize, improve their performance via social support and retain them in the end. By implication, lacking time lag is considered as the limitation.Originality/valueEmpirical research relating to the psychological strains and leverages of job insecurity is sparse in the hospitality industry. Based on job demand-resource and conservation of resource theories, the present research aimed to fill this gap.

The well-being of Romanian workers in Spain: antecedents and moderators

ABSTRACTThis study adds to our understanding of the negative effect that job insecurity (JI) has over the well-being of migrating workers. The moderating effect of acculturation and support for family was investigated while considering engagement, burnout and physical and psychological health as criteria, in a sample of 477 Romanian employees who work in Spain. Results show that acculturation buffers against the negative effects of JI on engagement, and it attenuates the relationship between JI and burnout or mental health complaints. Support for family has no intervening effect between JI and well-being outcomes. In a three-way JI × support for family × acculturation interaction, JI had a positive relationship with burnout, when migrating workers were married and experienced a low level of acculturation. The findings are of value because they emphasize the importance of acculturation for the occupational health of migrating workers.

Job insecurity, financial difficulties and mental health in Europe

The recession has increased job insecurity in the European Union (EU) which may result in higher levels of psychological distress, burnout and anxiety. To investigate the association of job insecurity and financial difficulties with mental health in 27 member states of the EU and to explore the moderating effect of having financial difficulties on the relationship between job insecurity and mental health. The sample consisted of employed people from 27 European countries where the Eurobarometer survey (73.2 wave, 2010) was administered by the European Commission. Mental well-being and psychological distress were measured using the Vitality and Mental Health Index (MHI-5) subscales from the Short-Form 36-item health survey (SF-36v2). Linear regression including an interaction term was used to test the underlying factors in this study. Among the 12594 respondents, experiencing job insecurity was associated with lower Vitality [β = -3.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.29 to -2.36] and MHI-5 (β = -3.48, 95% CI -4.91 to -2.04). Similarly, having financial difficulties was significantly correlated with lower Vitality (β = -8.65, 95% CI -12.07 to -5.24) and MHI-5 (β = -11.51, 95% CI -15.08 to -7.94). However, having financial difficulties did not moderate the relationship between job insecurity and both mental health scales. This study highlights the negative effect of job insecurity and financial difficulties on mental health in the EU. Support to employees facing job security issues should be a priority regardless of the financial circumstances.

The moderating effect of trust in management on consequences of job insecurity

Using data from 1071 staff and administrative professionals at a large university experiencing repeated rounds of budget cuts, this article examines the attenuating effect of trust in management on the negative consequences of job insecurity. Results show that job insecurity was associated with increased burnout and psychological distress as well as decreased work and supervisor satisfaction and affective commitment. However, trust in management was negatively related to burnout and psychological distress but positively related to work and supervisor satisfaction and affective commitment. More importantly, trust in management was found to consistently buffer the relationships between job insecurity and these job-related outcomes. Implications for successfully managing job insecurity during times of organizational or economic upheaval are discussed.

Job insecurity, employability and health: an analysis for Germany across generations

ABSTRACTIn this article, we use 12 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to examine the relationship between job insecurity, employability and health-related well-being. Our results indicate that being unemployed has a strong negative effect on life satisfaction and health. They also, however, highlight the fact that this effect is most prominent among individuals over the age of 40. A second observation is that job insecurity is also associated with lower levels of life satisfaction and health, and this association is quite strong. This negative effect of job insecurity is, in many cases, exacerbated by poor employability.

The associations between job insecurity, depressive symptoms and burnout: The role of performance-based self-esteem

Despite agreement on the negative effects of job insecurity, more knowledge needs to be generated on the health effects in terms of burnout and depressive symptoms and for whom job insecurity has these negative effects. The present study aims to investigate the associations between job insecurity and burnout and depressive symptoms respectively, by studying the moderation influences of performance-based self-esteem (PBSE), a form of contingent self-esteem. A population-based sample with 4145 twins was used. The results showed that job insecurity was significantly associated with both burnout and depressive symptoms, and that PBSE acted as a moderator, so that the associations were stronger for individuals with high PBSE than for individuals with low PBSE. The study contributes by including a personality characteristic to gain more knowledge about the mechanisms of job insecurity on mental ill-health, and by illustrating that job insecurity has an impact on severe health outcomes in terms of burnout and depressive symptoms.