Past work has extensively documented that job insecurity predicts various work- and health-related outcomes. However, limited research has focused on the potential consequences of perceived job insecurity climate. Our objective was to investigate how the psychological climate about losing a job and valuable job features (quantitative and qualitative job insecurity climate, respectively) relate to employees’ exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect behaviors, and whether such climate perceptions explain additional variance in these behaviors over individual job insecurity. Data were collected through an online survey using a convenience sample of employees working in different organizations in Türkiye (N = 245). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that quantitative job insecurity climate was associated with higher levels of loyalty and neglect, while qualitative job insecurity climate was related to higher levels of exit and lower levels of loyalty. Importantly, job insecurity climate explained additional variance over individual job insecurity in exit and loyalty. Our findings underscore the importance of addressing job insecurity in a broader context regarding one’s situation and the psychological collective climate. This study contributes to addressing the knowledge gap concerning job insecurity climate, an emerging construct in the organizational behavior literature, and its incremental impact beyond individual job insecurity. The foremost implication is that organizations need to pay attention to the evolving climate perceptions about the future of jobs in the work environment, because such perceptions are related to critical employee behaviors.

Research has consistently shown adverse consequences of job insecurity. Such adversity includes poorer mental and physical health as well as reduced well-being. Moreover, findings suggest that job insecurity increases interference between work and family domains. While most job insecurity research focuses on quantitative aspects, including overall worries regarding the future existence of a job, there is a qualitative dimension which includes worries about losing valued characteristics of the job. Studies of the two dimensions suggest that quantitative and qualitative job insecurity have diverse effects on different health-related outcomes. This makes it meaningful to investigate whether and how individuals and groups vary in their job insecurity perceptions across these two dimensions. While most studies have taken on a variable-oriented approach focusing on relationships between variables and the identification of predictors and consequences in specific populations, it tends to neglect variation between individuals. A person-oriented approach, including for instance latent profile analysis, uses the variation between individuals to form groups of individuals with similar variability. This study investigates such individual differences in perceptions of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity to go beyond categorizations of high and low job insecurity and forward the understanding of how individuals within a population may vary in their experiences. Specifically, the aim was to explore whether it would be possible to identify different job insecurity profiles among women and men working full-time. Moreover, variations between profiles in work/home interference, health, and well-being were investigated.

We invited working women and men with positions requiring a higher education, aged 32-58 years and residing in Sweden, to a questionnaire study (response rate: 56 per cent). The analysis included self-ratings of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, work/home interference, health, and well-being, and demographics, from 1169 full-time working adults (52.4 per cent women). Latent profile analysis was performed to identify profiles. Subsequent analyses included profile comparisons of demographics, work/home interference, health, and well-being. Four different job insecurity profiles were identified: 1) Secure (n = 715), 2) Secure: quality concerned (n = 238), 3) Insecure: employment concerned (n = 149), and 4) Insecure (n = 67). Comparing the profiles, significant differences emerged for work/home interference (i.e., family/work conflict), self-rated health, and well-being. As would be expected, the Secure had better self-rated health and well-being than the others, while the finding for family/work conflict seemed less consistent.

Obviously, the study design limits conclusions regarding causality. Also, the study included full- time workers with a higher education which limits generalization. Yet, it was possible to distinguish different job insecurity profiles also in more privileged populations. Although the Secure profile was by far the largest, other profiles were characterized by concerns regarding overall insecurity, the employment, or job qualities. Using a person-oriented approach, this study adds to the fine-grained understanding of individual differences of job insecurity as an occupational stressor. This is important to facilitate targeted communication to vulnerable groups when organizational resources are limited, which, in turn, is key for developing a sustainable working life.

Bakgrund: Anställningsotrygghet, det vill säga en oro för att mot den egna viljan förlora jobbet, har visatsig vara kopplat till olika prestationsrelaterade utfall. Antalet studier är dock få med resultatsom pekar åt delvis olika håll. Därför är det angeläget att försöka sammanställa tidigareforskning på ett systematiskt sätt genom en meta-analys.

Syfte: Den här studien syftade till att undersöka hur anställningsotrygghet hänger samman med olikaaspekter av prestation i arbetet, däribland arbetsprestation och medarbetarbeteenden. I detingick också att undersöka faktorer som kan påverka dessa samband, såsom metodrelateradefaktorer samt kontextuella faktorer som speglar vilken typ av välfärdssystem en studiegenomförts i.

Metod: En meta-analys genomfördes på primärstudier som identifierades genom systematisklitteratursökning i för området relevanta databaser

Resultat: Över lag visar resultaten att anställningsotrygghet hänger samman med försämrad prestation iarbetet. Resultaten är jämförbara oberoende av om studiedesignen var tvärsnittlig ellerlongitudinell. Sambandet mellan hög anställningsotrygghet och försämrad prestation framstårsom svagare i välfärdssystem som är förenade med en högre grad av skyddsnät för den enskildaindividen. Även om merparten av resultaten visar på entydiga samband mellananställningsotrygghet och försämrad prestation behövs dock forskning som inkluderar mer avlongitudinella studier i olika välfärdskontexter för att ytterligare klargöra sambandens karaktär.

Objectives: Traditional variable-oriented research has shown that employee perceptions of job insecurity (JI) are associated with negative consequences, including more work-home interference, poorer health, and impaired well-being. Besides the negative consequences of high JI, particular combinations of JI perceptions may also be associated with different consequences. Taking a person-oriented approach, this study aimed to investigate (1) whether it is possible to distinguish different combinations of JI perceptions among working women and men and (2) whether such JI profiles involve different experiences of work-home interference, health, and well-being.

Methods: Self-reports in questionnaires of JI, including both quantitative and qualitative threats of perceived job loss, work-home interference (WHI), health, and psychological well-being came from 1169 white-collar workers (52.4% women) in Sweden. Latent profile analysis was performed to identify JI profiles. Subsequent analyses included comparing profiles with respect to WHI, health, and well-being.

Results: Four distinct JI profiles were identified: (1) Secure; quality-concerned, (2) Insecure: employment-concerned, (3) Insecure, and (4) Secure. Comparisons of cluster profiles showed significant differences in work-home interference (family-work conflict), self-rated health, and psychological well-being.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that the Insecure profile may be most vulnerable to adverse consequences of perceived JI. Taken together, different JI profiles may be associated with differential experiences of work-home interference, health, and psychological well-being among working women and men.

Job insecurity (JI), “the overall concern about the continued existence of the job in the future” is a worry and stress source for many employees. This concern may be related to the continued existence of the job itself (i.e., quantitative JI) or valued job features (i.e., qualitative JI). Both dimensions reflect a subjective perception involving a threat of loss in the future. A large number of studies have provided evidence for the detrimental effects of JI (in both forms) on various outcomes. Traditionally, JI has been defined as an individual phenomenon; however recent research indicates that it can also be shared and represent climate level perceptions. The limited number of studies having examined JI climate show that also “the shared concern about the continued existence of the job in an organization” may have negative outcomes. However, how JI climate is measured matters. While some previous studies have measured JI climate by aggregating individuals’ ratings of their individual JI to unit levels, there is also a recently developed measure to assess individuals’ ratings of JI climate at their workplace.

The present study aims to investigate the measurement properties and construct validity of individual JI and JI climate, both with quantitative and qualitative dimensions, in a Turkish sample. The sample was composed of 245 employees (51% women, Mage = 34, age range: 19-59). Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the proposed four-factor model (individual JI and JI climate, both with quantitative and qualitative dimensions) provided a good fit to data and outperformed rivalling models. In general, the Cronbach's alpha reliability estimates were above .70 (the exception being individual quantitative job insecurity, α=0.64). Comparisons of associations between the four JI dimensions and demographic variables provided some evidence for the discriminant validity of the proposed four-factor representation of individual JI and JI climate.

Job insecurity represents a source of worry and stress for many employees, and the detrimental effects of job insecurity on various outcomes have been shown by numerous studies (including meta-analyses). Traditionally, job insecurity has been considered as an individual-level phenomenon; however, recent findings provide evidence for the existence of a “shared concern about the continued existence of the job in an organization” (i.e., job insecurity climate). The limited number of studies focusing on the job insecurity climate construct provide insights about the construct distinctiveness between individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate, and indicate that job insecurity climate may have negative effects on work-related (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment) and health-related outcomes (e.g., higher levels of work-family conflict and psychological distress).

This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the role of job insecurity climate for employees’ exit, voice, neglect, and loyalty behaviours, also by testing the predictive ability beyond individual job insecurity perceptions.

The sample was composed of 245 employees in Turkey (51% women, Mage = 34, age range: 19-59). Multiple regression analysis results indicated that quantitative job insecurity climate (i.e., the perception of a shared concern about the continued existence of the job itself) predicted higher levels of exit, aggressive voice, loyalty, and neglect. Qualitative job insecurity climate (i.e., the perception of a shared concern about the continued existence of valued job features) predicted higher levels of exit and aggressive voice, and lower levels of loyalty. The results also provide evidence for the incremental validity of job insecurity climate perceptions above and beyond individual job insecurity in explaining employees’ exit, aggressive voice, and loyalty behaviours.

Forskning har visat att upplevelser av anställningsotrygghet bland arbetstagare är förenade med negativa konsekvenser i form av exempelvis sämre hälsa och lägre välbefinnande. Merparten av den tidigare forskningen utgår från en så kallat variabel-orienterad ansats. Det betyder att fokus ligger på att undersöka samband, prediktorer och konsekvenser av anställningsotrygghet. Den här ansatsen medför vissa begränsningar i och med att den inte tar tillräcklig hänsyn till det faktum att samband kan se olika ut i olika grupper av individer. Det hänger samman med att olika grupper av individer kan uppfatta anställningsotrygghet på olika sätt. Sådana variationer kan i sin tur ha olika konsekvenser för hälsa och välbefinnande. Istället för en variabel-orienterad ansats kan en person-orienterad ansats användas för att beskriva variationer mellan olika grupper av individer. För att klargöra om en person orienterad ansats kan tillföra något behöver upplevelser i anställningsotrygghet undersökas utifrån en sådan ansats. Den här empiriska studien syftade till att 1) undersöka om det är möjligt att urskilja olika kombinationer av upplevd anställningsotrygghet bland yrkesarbetande kvinnor och män och 2) om olika sådana kombinationer är kopplade till olika upplevelser av hälsa och välbefinnande. Självrapporterad anställningsotrygghet, inkluderande såväl kvantitativa som kvalitativa aspekter, samt hälsa och välbefinnande samlades in genom enkäter som besvarades av ungefär 1300 yrkesarbetande kvinnor och män. Person-orienterade analyser genomfördes med utgångspunkt i kvantitativ respektive kvalitativ anställningsotrygghet. Ytterligare analyser inkluderade gruppjämförelser avseende hälsa och välbefinnande för att undersöka variationer kopplade till olika kombinationer av anställningsotrygghet.De person-orienterade analyserna visade att det är möjligt att särskilja grupper med olika kombinationer av anställningsotrygghet. Det går alltså att identifiera olika profiler. Dessa profiler förekommer i olika utsträckning. Vidare jämförelser visade också på variationer i hälsa och välbefinnande. Sammantaget visar resultaten alltså att en person-orienterad ansats kan tillföra värdefull kunskap om olika grupper av individer. Det kan vara viktigt för att förstå och kunna möta olika grupper i arbetslivet med profilerade insatser.

Background: Previous research suggests that job insecurity is associated with poor mental health, but research examining how different aspects of job insecurity relate to clinical measures of poor mental health are lacking. We aimed to investigate the association between cognitive and affective job insecurity and incident purchases of psychotropic drugs.

Methods: We included 14,586 employees participating in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), who answered questions on cognitive and/or affective job insecurity in 2010, 2012 or 2014. Respondents were followed in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (2.5 years on average). We investigated the association between job insecurity and incident psychotropic drugs with marginal structural Cox models.

Results: Affective job insecurity was associated with an increased risk of purchasing any psychotropic drugs (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.40 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04–1.89)) while cognitive job insecurity was not (HR 1.15 (95% CI 0.92–1.43)). Cognitive and affective job insecurity were both associated with antidepressants, affective job insecurity with anxiolytics, but no association was found with sedatives. Women and younger workers seemed to have higher risk compared to men and older workers, but differences were not statistically significant.

Limitations: Although job insecurity and psychotropic drugs were assessed through independent sources and several covariates were considered, unmeasured confounding cannot be ruled out.

Conclusions: The findings support that affective job insecurity is a risk factor for psychotropic drug treatment, that it may be relevant to distinguish between different types of job insecurity, and to consider sex and age as moderating factors.

Previous research has shown that job insecurity is linked to a range of performance outcomes, but the number of studies exploring this relationship is still limited and the results are somewhat mixed. The first aim of this study was to meta-analytically investigate how job insecurity is related to task performance, contextual performance, counterproductive work behavior, creativity, and safety compliance. The second aim was to test two method-related factors ( cross-sectional vs. longitudinal associations and self-vs. supervisor-ratings of performance) and two macro-level indicators of social protection ( social welfare regime and union density) as moderators of these associations. The results show that job insecurity was generally associated with impaired employee performance. These findings were generally similar both cross-sectionally and longitudinally and irrespective of rater. Overall, the associations between job insecurity and negative performance outcomes were weaker in welfare regimes characterized by strong social protection, whereas the results concerning union density produced mixed results. A majority of the findings confirmed the negative associations between job insecurity and types of employee performance, but future research is needed to elaborate on the effects of temporal aspects, differences between ratings sources, and further indicators of social protection in different cultural settings in the context of job insecurity.

Purpose: While previous research has shown that job insecurity is linked to job performance, the number of studies exploring this relationship is limited and the results are mixed (Cheng & Chan, 2008; Sverke et al., 2002). This duality is also reflected in theoretical frameworks. For instance, psychological contract theory implicates that job insecurity may result in lower performance (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2006; Vander Elst et al., 2016), whereas impression management theory suggests that performance may increase as a consequence of perceived job insecurity (Huang et al., 2013). Further, the type of performance ratings used in previous studies has been discussed, and the sole use of self-ratings of performance is upheld as potentially problematic (e.g. Probst et al., 2017). In response to previous criticism of studies in this field regarding self-ratings of performance, both self- and supervisor-ratings of job performance are included in this study. Lastly, there have also been calls for more longitudinal studies in job insecurity research, addressing the question of short- and long-term effects of job insecurity (Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 2010). Taken together, this study seeks to address the mixed results found in previous research regarding the relationship between job insecurity and job performance. More specifically, the aim is to investigate how job insecurity is related to self- and supervisor-rated performance, both cross-sectionally and over time.

Design: The study is based on survey data collected among white-collar employees in a large industrial enterprise in Sweden. The data collection had a longitudinal design with 2 data waves. The questionnaire data will be supplemented with supervisor ratings of overall performance.

Findings: Questionnaire data from employees have been collected, and preliminary results indicate that job insecurity can result in lower job performance. Supervisor-ratings are currently being collected.

Research limitations: While the study adds to the literature by investigating both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of job insecurity with self-rated as well as supervisor-rated job performance, it does not unravel the nature of causal associations. In addition, the results need replication in other national and occupational contexts.

Practical implications: The present study links job insecurity with lower performance. The results thus have important implications for organisations navigating high demands for flexibility and tight business margins. Organisations should make efforts to prevent job insecurity from emerging as a concern among employees in order to avoid reduced job performance.

Originality: By combining a longitudinal design with self- and supervisor-ratings of task performance, this study adds to previous research in two different ways: We investigate both (1) short- and long-terms associations between job insecurity and job performance, and (2) test these associations using both self- and supervisor-ratings of job performance.