Purpose: A rapidly growing body of literature has shown that perceptions of job insecurity are related to negative outcomes, but less is known about the relative importance of different societal contexts. It has for instance been argued that the consequences of job insecurity may be more negative in countries that have a high level of social protection, because of the social stigma of unemployment. On the other hand, the lack of unemployment insurance programs may aggravate the negative consequences. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate if work- and health-related consequences of job insecurity vary between cultural and welfare contexts.

Design/Methodology: A literature search with the search terms “job insecurity”, “job uncertainty”, “job security”, and “job security satisfaction” in Psycinfo, Web of Science, and EBSCO produced a sample of 523 peer-reviewed papers published between 1980 and July 2016. Economic and social development, national welfare system, and tolerance for ambiguity were tested as moderators in the relationship between job insecurity and outcomes.

Results: The results indicate that the magnitudes of effects of job insecurity differ depending on the choice of classification system.

Limitations: The literature search was limited to published, peer-reviewed papers. This demarcation may have introduced a publication bias to the study.

Research/Practical implications: In addition to being an important individual and organizational concern, job insecurity is also intimately linked with societal level factors.

Originality/Value: This study contributes to an increased understanding of the importance of macro-level factors in the association between job insecurity and outcomes.