Job insecurity and employee performance: examining different types of performance, rating sources and levels

Abstract

We examine the relationship between job insecurity (JI) and performance (i.e., adaptivity, proactivity, task performance) from a multilevel perspective. We suggest that different behavioural responses will be triggered depending on whether the JI refers to an employee's relative JI within a team or a team's collective JI. An individual employee's relative JI within a team may evoke a withdrawal reaction (i. e., diminished performance) because the individual experiences the insecurity as a personal issue (one which does not affect the rest of the team as much; i.e., a "person-at-risk" situation). However, when JI is experienced as a collective phenomenon (one that affects the entire team as a whole because of the shared context, i.e., a "job-at-risk" situation), employees may demonstrate higher performance as they are driven by job preservation motives. We incorporated both individual employee and supervisor ratings as they have complementary value in evaluating performance. Data was obtained from 53 teams, including 403 employees and 53 supervisors. Team's collective JI was associated with higher supervisor-rated performance at the team-level, both in terms of adaptivity and proactivity but not in terms of task performance. The employee's relative JI within a team was associated with reduced self-rated performance in terms of both adaptivity and task performance.

Qualitative job insecurity and extra-role behaviours: The moderating role of work motivation and perceived investment in employee development

“…They might engage in ERBs (i.e. actively praising and supporting their organization beyond the expected performance) only if they feel sufficiently motivated to do so by the positive inducement of their employer (Stynen et al, 2015), which might not be the case if they perceive that qualitative job insecurity is on the rise (Nikolova et al, 2022). If qualitative job insecurity is not viewed as something that deliberately targets employees' rewards, they might not see a reason to engage in fewer ERBs either, explaining our null finding.…”

The Effects of Job Insecurity, Emotional Exhaustion, and Met Expectations on Hotel Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Test of a Serial Mediation Model

“…Specifically, there is limited knowledge about the impact of JIS on employees' PEBs. As a matter of fact, there is limited research about the impact of JIS on performance-related outcomes [10]. Excluding Karatepe's [4] work which reported that JIS impeded hotel employees' green recovery performance and proactive PEBs, past and recent writings do not shed light on whether employees suffering from the threat of job loss in the future do not contribute to the hotel's environmental sustainability efforts through their PEBs [23,24].…”

“…One of the most critical hindrance stressors in today's competitive market environment that may hamper employees' proactive PEBs is job insecurity (JIS) [4]. JIS, which highlights the "…perceived powerlessness to maintain desired continuity in a threatened job situation" [5, p. 438], is prevalent in many industries including the hospitality and tourism industry [6][7][8][9][10][11], and has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic [12][13][14]. Employees suffering from heightened JIS exhibit emotional exhaustion [13], which denotes the depletion of emotional resources as a result of excessive job demands [15].…”

More or Less Job Performance in an Insecure Job? A Study on the Relationship between Job Insecurity and In-Role and Extra-Role Performance

“…Recent studies have also aimed to enhance more clarity on the factors that could determine the outcome of these appraisal processes. On the one hand, it has been suggested that the more job insecurity is perceived as an individual or personal problem rather than a collective one, the more it may be perceived as threatening and associated with reduced performance 25 . On the other hand, it has been suggested that also negative emotions such as fears in the broader context of job insecurity may play a role (e.g., fear that the company would close, fear that the company would not obtain its goals).…”

“…On the one hand, it has been suggested that the more job insecurity is perceived as an individual or personal problem rather than a collective one, the more it may be perceived as threatening and associated with reduced performance. 25 On the other hand, it has been suggested that also negative emotions such as fears in the broader context of job insecurity may play a role (e.g., fear that the company would close, fear that the company would not obtain its goals). Emotions, such as fears, are based on contextual information but also serve as a guide for deciding which behavior will be enacted.…”