Who Feels Insecure in Europe? Predicting Job Insecurity from Background Variables

Abstract

Along with the increased flexibilization of the labour market in Europe, there has been a change in the permanence and security of employment. Job insecurity is constituted by a subjectively experienced threat of having to give up one's job sooner than one would like. The experience of job insecurity has been linked to decreasing well-being, negative attitudes towards one's job and organization, and reluctance to stay with the organization. The present study investigates what groups experience higher levels of job insecurity than others. Survey data from four European countries (Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden) were used to determine what characterizes individuals who experience high levels of job insecurity. The results show that employees in jobs characterized by manual labour, contingent workers, and to some extent older workers and those with lower levels of education, experience higher levels of job insecurity.

Why are Depressive Symptoms More Prevalent Among The Less Educated? The Relevance of Low Cultural Capital and Cultural Entitlement

“…Income also influences mental health through the social and emotional meaning it implies: Income shapes evaluations of relative social status, and this may influence factors like life satisfaction and depression (Diener et al 1993:196). A related aspect of the economic privilege of the more educated is their relatively secure labor market position (Näswall and De Witte 2003). In general, insecurity about whether one will be able to maintain a job in the future leads to stress reactions and an overall reduction in psychological well-being (De Witte 1999), which may result in anxiety and depression (Orpen 1993).…”

Subjective employment insecurity around the world

“…Worry about job loss is generally much higher in the transitional and the developing countries. Comparing the groups of countries, and after controlling for the cross-country variation in job insecurity, the Previous empirical evidence on these forms of insecurity differentiation is relatively scarce (Green et al, 2000;Campbell et al, 2006;Naswall and De Witte, 2003;Clarke and F. Postel-Vinay, 2004;Erlinghagen, 2008;Charles and James, 2003;Kim and Park (2006)). There is not much support, in the cases of Britain and Denmark, for the prediction of precarous work theory that women experience more employment insecurity than men; but female workers are less secure in France, Spain, and South Korea.…”

The relationship between wealth and loneliness among older people across Europe: Is social participation protective?

“…Those with a disadvantaged socioeconomic position are more likely to be widowed; one of the strongest risk factors for loneliness (Pinquart, 2003). Individuals with fewer educational qualifications also may not have had as many opportunities to develop social networks as those with higher education, as a result of longer working hours, the increased risk of unemployment and insecure employment throughout the life course (Näswall and De Witte, 2003).…”