The Development and Initial Validation of a Self-Report Job Precariousness Scale Suitable for Use With Young Adults Who Study and Work

Abstract

Precarious employment has been increasing worldwide. Yet there are few scales suitable to assess it, and no scales to measure perceived job precariousness in working students who are particularly vulnerable. Using classic test theory, we generated 21 job precariousness items and had them reviewed by experts. In Study 1 ( N = 282, 63% female, mean age 22 years), exploratory factor analysis yielded four factors of job conditions, security, remuneration, and flexibility, each with 3 items. In Study 2 ( N = 211, 75% female, mean age 22 years), confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that this four-factor model was the best fit compared to unidimensional, second-order, and bifactor models. Cronbach’s α coefficients for all factors and the full-scale score were sound (all >.78). Validity was supported by showing that precariousness was related negatively to life satisfaction and employer support and positively to job insecurity, financial strain, and subjective social status. Precariousness was unrelated to age, sex, and hours worked. The Job Precariousness Scale has the potential to promote research into the effects of precarious employment on working students’ current and future functioning and achievement and how experiences of precariousness influence the development of a precarity identity.

Working, but not for a living: a longitudinal study on the psychological consequences of economic vulnerability among German employees

“…Implementing multi-item scales (e.g. Creed et al, 2020;Starrin et al, 2009) in future surveys would nevertheless provide a more nuanced assessment of different facets of financial strain, such as difficulties in paying essential bills. Though our dichotomous low income indicator was in line with conventions in poverty research (e.g.…”

Precarious Job Makes Me Withdraw? The Role of Job Insecurity and Negative Affect

“…The first is a combination of objective job features—that is, a paid job characterized by uncertainty, low income and limited social benefits and statutory entitlements [ 3 ]. The second is a subjective experience of precarious work involving the individual, psychological experience of precariousness related to one’s work [ 8 , 14 ]. Consistent with previous studies, in the current study, we follow the second view, defining job precariousness as an individual’s subjective perception of objective job features because an individual’s subjective perception of external conditions has been suggested to be a better predictor of outcomes than objective perceptions [ 12 ].…”

“…Consistent with previous studies, in the current study, we follow the second view, defining job precariousness as an individual’s subjective perception of objective job features because an individual’s subjective perception of external conditions has been suggested to be a better predictor of outcomes than objective perceptions [ 12 ]. Conceptually, as a perceptual construct, job precariousness is defined and measured differently in existing studies [ 8 , 14 ]. We followed previous studies that have evidenced that the job precariousness scale (JPS) developed by Creed, Hood, Selenko and Bagley [ 8 ] has more reliability and validity to adopt their conceptualization and measurement in the current study.…”

“…The crux of the aforementioned problem lies not only in objectively precarious work itself but also in people’s psychological experience of subjective job precariousness [ 8 ]. In fact, individuals’ subjective perceptions of external conditions are often better predictors of outcomes than objective conditions because people’s expectations of the work play an important role [ 9 ].…”

Constructing early childhood leadership models in China: a mixed-methods study

“…By using multiple groups of samples, the systematic procedures for developing a new measure help demonstrate reliability, stable dimensionality and predictable relationships with variables of early childhood leadership. Moreover, the systematic procedures have also been followed by other researchers to develop relevant scales, such as teachers' attitudes toward recruitment system (Yeşilçınar and Çakır, 2020) and job precariousness (Creed et al , 2020).…”