A study of job insecurity and life satisfaction in COVID-19: the multilevel moderating effect of perceived control and work–life balance programs

Abstract

Background:The effect of COVID-19 on the manufacturing industry in China has resulted in increased employee psychological pressure and job insecurity. This study uses a theoretical model to identify the links between job insecurity and life satisfaction, and further explores the multilevel moderating effect underlying these links. Methods: Based on the conservation of resources theory, a hierarchical linear model is utilized to test the relationships among cross-level variables. The data comprises 528 valid questionnaires from 43 manufacturing companies in China. Results: The research results show that both perceived control (individual level) and work-life balance programs (organizational level) positively moderate the relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction. Conclusions: This study contributes toward identifying the effect of employees' psychological status and job insecurity on life satisfaction, and further confirms two different level moderators that alleviate the negative relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction. Whether different genders have an effect on perception of life satisfaction is also considered, and the results show that men perceive significantly greater life satisfaction than women. Finally, based on the research findings, practical and theoretical implications are proposed.

The Mental Health of Employees with Job Loss and Income Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Perceived Financial Stress

“…Some strategies have been proposed to reduce the negative psychological state of workers facing the consequences of COVID-19. For example, companies could arrange professional counselors for advice and consultation, or they could provide employees with the ability to control and arrange their work setting in order to help them reduce the negative pressure caused by job insecurity [ 33 ].…”

Job Insecurity and Company Behavior: Influence of Fear of Job Loss on Individual and Work Environment Factors

“…These data are consistent with the investigations by Vargas-Jiménez et al [ 29 ], Menéndez-Espina et al [ 15 ], Lee et al [ 25 ], and Shoss [ 10 ]. Likewise, the fact that job insecurity correlates negatively with family functionality [ 34 , 35 ] is relevant. In turn, workers with low insecurity experience job satisfaction, as well as a favorable perception, pleasant and emotionally positive state about the activities they perform in the company [ 19 , 32 ].…”

“…Thus, at the individual level, they experience an imbalance between personal and family demands and those of work. This is related to a greater state of insecurity, instability, demotivation and dissatisfaction at work [ 10 , 25 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. These phenomena are associated with mental health problems such as psychological discomfort caused by a combination of anxiety and depression [ 11 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 ], as well as physical health alterations [ 23 , 24 ].…”

“…At the individual level, a link has been found with alterations in physical health [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ] and mental health [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], producing depression, anxiety [ 30 ], emotional exhaustion [ 31 ], and low satisfaction in life [ 32 ]. All of these elements have an impact on identity [ 11 ] and self-esteem [ 10 , 25 , 33 ], and they affect the functional life of the family, causing an imbalance between family life and work, reducing work well-being [ 34 , 35 ].…”

The role of employee assistance programs under COVID‐19‐induced work–family conflict: Effects on service employees' work engagement and burnout

“…Employees worry about not being able to maintain their financial resources, but they also want to do well in their home domain. Thus, they tend to devote more resources to their family roles, which then affects their subsequent physical and mental state at work (Lee & Tsai, 2022). Second, when an organization is able to assist employees in the work and home domains through the implementation of an employee assistance program (EAP), the resources provided by the organization allow employees to have more time and energy to deal with the tasks and responsibilities of the work and home domains (Allgood et al ., 2022).…”