The associations of quantitative/qualitative job insecurity and well-being: The role of self-esteem.

Abstract

Job insecurity is recognized as one of the most prominent job stressors for employees. Despite decades of research, the concurrent examination of both quantitative (i.e. perceived threat of job loss) and qualitative (i.e., perceived threat of losing some job features) job insecurity and the analysis of their different relationships with well-being at work have received relatively scarce attention. This study examined a moderated mediation model of the relationship between quantitative job insecurity and well-being at work. In doing so, the focus was on the mediating effects of qualitative job insecurity and the moderating effects of self-esteem in the abovementioned relationships. Drawing from Warr's model, four indicators of well-being at work were included (i.e., vigor, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction and psychological symptoms) offering a more detailed analysis of the consequences of job insecurity. A sample of 751 Italian employees participated in a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that qualitative job insecurity fully mediated the effects of quantitative job insecurity on outcomes. Concerning job satisfaction, the conditional indirect effect of quantitative job insecurity varied significantly on the basis of selfesteem, showing the moderating role of the latter variable. These findings provided additional evidence of the different role of job insecurity dimensions on well-being in workplaces. Moreover, the overall moderated mediation analysis provided new insights about the buffering role of selfesteem. Finally, implications for human resource management and stress management were provided.

A Crossover Study From a Gender Perspective: The Relationship Between Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction, and Partners’ Family Life Satisfaction

“…Available evidence clearly showed that job insecurity has detrimental effects on well-being and health ( De Witte et al, 2016 ), performance ( Cheng and Chan, 2008 ), and job attitudes ( Vander Elst et al, 2014 ). More in detail, several studies ( Sverke et al, 2002 ; Callea et al, 2017 ) reported that job insecurity can negatively affect job satisfaction because, through the anticipation of job loss (thus acting as a powerful stressor), it can decrease the pleasant feelings associated with his/her own job. Based on such evidence, we anticipated that a negative association would have existed between job insecurity and job satisfaction.…”

“…Similar results were obtained later by Lim (1996) , and Preuss and Lautsch (2002) . More recently, both Callea et al (2017) and Chirumbolo et al (2017) surveyed different samples of Italian workers finding significant negative effects on job satisfaction, also distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative job insecurity as separate, albeit related, predictors. Thus, we propose that:…”

Qualitative Job Insecurity and Informal Learning: A Longitudinal Test of Occupational Self-Efficacy and Psychological Contract Breach as Mediators

“…Indeed, previous research has demonstrated that qualitative job insecurity is associated with a decline in employee well-being [19,21], organizational commitment [4], career satisfaction [22], and job performance [5,6,23], and an increase in turnover intentions [3] and counterproductive work behavior [7]. Since no prior studies have examined the relationship with informal learning, we aim to examine the negative implications of qualitative job insecurity for employees’ informal workplace learning.…”

All Insecure, All Good? Job Insecurity Profiles in Relation to Career Correlates

“…Felt quantitative job insecurity relates to concerns about potential job loss, and felt qualitative job insecurity to concerns about how the job will look like in the future [10,11]. To date, qualitative job insecurity has attracted comparatively little research attention [12], and the combination of felt quantitative and qualitative job insecurity is rarer still (see [13,14] for exceptions). Latent profile analysis is still relatively new in a domain that is dominated by a variable-centered approach (see [15] for exceptions).…”

“…Empirical evidence from variable-centered studies suggests a positive correlation between quantitative and qualitative job insecurity. Yet, correlations vary from low (e.g., r = 0.14 in [30]), over medium (e.g., r = 0.26 in [13]) to high (e.g., r = 0.82 in [31]; r = 0.79 in [32]).…”