Job Insecurity and Subsequent Actual Turnover: Rumination as a Valid Explanation?

Abstract

Job insecurity is a work stressor with many negative consequences for the individual as well as the organization. However, currently, little is known about why job insecurity is related to these outcomes. In the present study, actual turnover was investigated as a possible consequence of job insecurity. Additionally, rumination about a possible job loss (i.e., the act of intensified thinking about the future of the job) was investigated as an explanatory mechanism. Relationships were tested using longitudinal data from a sample of 699 Belgian employees. Results of structural equation modeling analyses show that job insecurity was related to turnover 1 year later. This relationship was mediated by rumination about job insecurity. Actual turnover was investigated over time as a potential consequence of job insecurity, compared to many studies that used turnover intention as a proxy to predict actual turnover. Moreover, a job insecurityspecific mechanism-namely, rumination about job insecurity-was studied, which increased our understanding of how job insecurity develops into its consequences.

Suffering Job Insecurity: Will the Employees Take the Proactive Behavior or Not?

“…With the study of the internal effects of the employee, the research on the outcome variables of job insecurity has gradually extended to the field of behavior. Scholars have studied the influence of job insecurity on employees’ actual turnover behavior ( Richter et al, 2020 ), workplace deviance ( Xiao et al, 2018 ), counterproductive behavior ( Nawrocka et al, 2021 ), and organizational citizenship behavior ( Lam et al, 2015 ) from different perspectives. The studies on the influence of job insecurity on employees’ innovative behavior ( Teng et al, 2019 ) have also sprung up as organizations attach increasing importance to “innovation.” There are no researchers that have been found to pay attention to the impact of job insecurity on proactive behavior.…”

How Authoritarian Leadership Affects Employee's Helping Behavior? The Mediating Role of Rumination and Moderating Role of Psychological Ownership

“…Managers and employees need to be vigilant of these systematic biases and errors while trying to stop rumination from aggravating. Measures could be taken to reduce the rumination by placing priority on leisure time and acknowledging leisure time as an important time to recover (Richter et al, 2020 ). Management could organize workshops and seminars to inform employees of the importance of leisure time, and facilitate their diversion of their concentration from ruminative thoughts.…”

Acting Proactively to Manage Job Insecurity: How Worrying About the Future of One’s Job May Obstruct Future-Focused Thinking and Behavior

“…Given that proactive behavior requires energy and cognitive resources beyond the resources that are required for core tasks (Bolino et al, 2010;Parker et al, 2013;Schmitt et al, 2017), it is unlikely that workers will engage in proactive career behavior when worrying about the future of their job. That is, when people experience job insecurity, one of their most essential resources (i.e., employment) is threatened (De Cuyper et al, 2012;Richter et al, 2020). This feeling of job insecurity, or more specifically the worrying about the future of one's job (i.e., affective job insecurity), requires energy: people who ruminate and dwell on the possible loss of their job are severely drained of energy (Richter et al, 2020).…”

“…Once these resources become threatened or depleted, people start to focus on short-term solutions to protect and/or regain current resources, rather than on long-term solutions to create new and/or alternative resources. Given that experiencing job insecurity threatens and depletes one's resources (De Cuyper et al, 2012;Richter et al, 2020), we argue that job insecure workers are unlikely to engage in long-term oriented proactive career behaviors that may help to create a more secure future.…”