Catch me if I fall! Enacted uncertainty avoidance and the social safety net as country-level moderators in the job insecurity-job attitudes link

Job insecurity is related to many detrimental outcomes, with reduced job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment being the 2 most prominent reactions. Yet, effect sizes vary greatly, suggesting the presence of moderator variables. On the basis of Lazarus's cognitive appraisal theory, we assumed that country-level enacted uncertainty avoidance and a country's social safety net would affect an individual's appraisal of job insecurity. More specifically, we hypothesized that these 2 country-level variables would buffer the negative relationships between job insecurity and the 2 aforementioned job attitudes. Combining 3 different data sources, we tested the hypotheses in a sample of 15,200 employees from 24 countries by applying multilevel modeling. The results confirmed the hypotheses that both enacted uncertainty avoidance and the social safety net act as cross-level buffer variables. Furthermore, our data revealed that the 2 cross-level interactions share variance in explaining the 2 job attitudes. Our study responds to calls to look at stress processes from a multilevel perspective and highlights the potential importance of governmental regulation when it comes to individual stress processes.     

Being Tough Versus Tender: The Impact of Country-Level and Individual Masculinity Orientations as Moderators of the Relationship Between Job Insecurity and Job Attitudes

Having a job constitutes one of the most potent means of attaining ‘masculine’ goals such as status, success, and material rewards. In the present research, we examine whether masculinity, both as a country-level value and an individual orientation, moderates the relationship between job insecurity and job attitudes. In Study 1, we draw on cross-cultural data of 20,988 employees from 17 countries. We find that job insecure individuals from countries with higher masculinity values show stronger decrements in job satisfaction (but not commitment). Shedding light on the underlying mechanism, we show that the moderating effect of masculinity is transmitted through two social job characteristics, perceived supervisor interpersonal justice and coworker support. We then constructively replicate the moderating effect of masculinity in Study 2. In a one-country sample of 319 employees, individual masculinity orientations likewise strengthen the negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Our research highlights that country-level and individual masculinity orientations yield comparable effects in the job insecurity appraisal process, and provides insight into how cultural values can be enacted at the individual level.     

Occupational well-being as a mediator between job insecurity and turnover intention: Findings at the individual and work department levels

This study examined the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention by applying occupational well-being (exhaustion, vigour) as a mediator. The study was inspired by two theories: the conservation of resources and emotional contagion theories. We investigated the relationships at the individual and work department levels by utilizing Multi-Level Structural Equation Modeling (ML-SEM) with the aim of clarifying whether the mediating mechanism was similar at both levels. In addition, we examined the relationships across the levels (cross-level interactions). Self-report data for the study were obtained from Finnish University staff (N = 2137 individual respondents from 78 work departments). The analyses resulted in three main findings. First, job insecurity, turnover intention, and occupational well-being were found, to some extent (2–6%), to be shared experiences within work departments. Second, we found that low occupational well-being (high exhaustion, low vigour) partly mediated the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention at both levels of analysis. Third, the results on cross-level interactions revealed that the lower the level of well-being at the work department level, the stronger the negative effect of job insecurity on well-being at the individual level. Thus, if poor well-being characterizes the work department, this may strengthen the negative relationship between job insecurity and well-being at the individual level.     

Consequences of job insecurity and the moderator role of occupational group

In recent decades, transformations in organizations and the labour market have produced an increase in employee job insecurity. In response to this situation, workers present different negative reactions. However, the intensity of these reactions varies across studies that have investigated the outcomes of job insecurity. One possible explanation for this inconsistency may lie in the influence of other factors, such as the occupational group (Sverke et al., 2002). The aim of this study is to provide additional evidence about the relationship between job insecurity and its outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, perceived performance and organizational commitment), and examine the moderator role of occupational group in this relationship. The sample was composed of 321 employees from different Spanish organizations. The results showed that job insecurity was directly and negatively related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and they suggest that occupational group moderated relations between job insecurity and three studied outcomes. In the case of life satisfaction and perceived performance, this relationship was stronger among blue collar workers. The relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction was stronger in white collar workers. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.     

工作不安全感与幸福感、绩效的关系：自我效能感的作用

旨在探讨工作不安全感对员工工作幸福感和工作绩效(上级评定)的影响,以及一般自我效能感在其中的作用机制。研究采用问卷调查的方法,共收集到513个有效样本。数据分析采用层级回归分析的方法。研究结果发现：⑴工作不安全感对员工工作幸福感和工作绩效都有显著的消极影响;⑵一般自我效能感对工作不安全感与身体健康、心理健康之间关系具有显著的调节作用,但对工作满意度的调节作用不显著;⑶一般自我效能感对不安全感—工作绩效之间关系具有显著的调节作用。这就表明,在当今处于转型期的中国社会里,工作不安全感是影响员工工作幸福感和工作绩效的一个重要压力源,而一般自我效能感可以发挥有效的调节作用     

The effect of culture on the curvilinear relationship between performance and turnover

Although researchers have theorized that there exists a curvilinear relationship between job performance and voluntary turnover, their research has been tested in the United States or culturally similar Switzerland. Through a study of the performance-turnover relationship from a multinational service-oriented organization in 24 countries, we demonstrate that the general relationship between performance and turnover is similar across countries but the details of that relationship change across countries. Using 4 cultural dimensions--in-group collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and performance orientation--we find that cultural factors alter the overall probability of voluntary turnover and influence the degree of curvilinearity in the performance-turnover relationship. Our findings have implications for research on the performance-turnover relationship, turnover research, and practice.     

More evidence on the latent benefits of work: bolstered by volunteering while threatened by job insecurity

ABSTRACT

This research examined whether volunteering would grant an alternative route to meaning at work (in the form of the latent benefits of work), even when people are deprived of meaning in times of job insecurity. Two longitudinal studies conducted in Germany (2 waves; n = 110) and the United Kingdom (3 waves; n = 377) showed that volunteering was related to more latent benefits in general, although the specific relationships differed between the countries: In the German sample, volunteering led to more collective purpose and social contacts over time, in the UK sample, it increased time structure and activity. Cross-lagged path analyses further showed that the relationship between volunteering and the latent benefits was reciprocal in both countries: volunteering increased the latent benefits and vice versa. There was limited evidence for the depriving effect of job insecurity, which was found only cross-sectionally. In sum, the results confirm that volunteering can enhance the benefits of work in times of job insecurity and that the effect is reciprocal.     

Applicants' Self‐presentational Behavior across Cultures: Less self‐presentation in Switzerland and Iceland than in the United States

Do US findings on applicants' self‐presentational behavior generalize to other countries? We argue that applicants in some countries are less motivated to present themselves favorably than applicants in others because countries vary in their unemployment rate (leading to differences in competition between job applicants) and their endorsement of modesty values, influencing their beliefs regarding self‐presentation. Using the randomized response technique, we obtained prevalence data on applicants' self‐presentational behavior from Iceland and Switzerland and compared them with previously published US results. The prevalence rates of self‐presentational behavior were fairly comparable in Iceland and Switzerland but significantly lower than in the United States. These results caution against using the same hiring strategy for all applicants from different cultures.     

团队沟通、工作不安全氛围对创新行为的影响:创造力自我效能感的调节作用

采用问卷调查法,以国内十三家大型企业集团75个工作团队共334名团队成员为研究对象,运用分层线性模型分析技术,探讨了团队沟通、工作不安全氛围对团队成员创新行为的影响,以及创造力自我效能感对此关系的调节作用.结果表明,团队沟通、工作不安全氛围对团队成员创新行为有倒U形的影响;创造力自我效能感调节团队沟通、工作不安全氛围与团队成员创新行为之间的关系:员工的创造力自我效能感越高,团队沟通、工作不安全氛围对团队成员创新行为的倒U形影响越小.     

The Content of the Threat Matters: the Differential Effects of Quantitative and Qualitative Job Insecurity on Different Types of Employee Motivation

Given the conceptual differences between different types of job insecurity, it is important to distinguish qualitative job insecurity from quantitative job insecurity when examining their motivational consequences. Building on the approach and avoidance framework, we expect that quantitative job insecurity influences avoid-performance goal orientation (avoidance form of motivation) via psychological safety, whereas qualitative job insecurity influences learning goal orientation (approach form of motivation) via psychological meaningfulness. We also examine the moderating role of organizational justice in such effects. Using two-wave data collected from 281 employees in China, we found that quantitative job insecurity had a positive indirect effect on employee avoid-performance goal orientation via decreased psychological safety, whereas qualitative job insecurity had a negative indirect effect on employee learning goal orientation via decreased psychological meaningfulness. In addition, organizational justice buffered the direct effect of quantitative job insecurity on employee psychological safety and the subsequent indirect effect on employee avoid-performance goal orientation. However, organizational justice did not moderate the influence of qualitative job insecurity on employee outcomes. Our findings provide new insights into the motivational implications of job insecurity.

     

Job Insecurity and Turnover Intentions: Gender Differences and the Mediating Role of Work Engagement

The present study tests an integrative model that considers differential gender effects for the mediating role of work engagement on the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intentions in a predominantly Muslim country. Job insecurity was divided into two aspects: general concerns about losing one’s job and concerns about losing the privileges (such as career advancement, stimulating work, competence, and pay development) that come from one’s specific job. Data were collected from 309 private banking employees (107 women, 202 men, with a mean age of 33.58) in Marmara region, Turkey. The results of multi-group path analysis partially support the hypotheses. The differential gender effects for the mediating effect of work engagement were supported only on the concerns about losing job privileges→turnover intention linkage, but not on the concerns about losing the job itself→turnover intention linkage. Moreover, the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between concerns about losing job privileges and turnover intention was found to be stronger for women than for men. For men, work engagement acts only as a partial mediator, suggesting that concerns about the loss of job privileges exerts its effects on turnover intentions both directly and indirectly. Although the direct effect of concerns about losing the job itself on turnover intention is significant, the indirect effect through work engagement turns out to be nonsignificant for both genders. Our findings are discussed considering the business environment in Turkey as a Muslim country.     

Investigating the Moderating Role of Cultural Practices on the Effect of Selection Fairness Perceptions

Utilizing a sample of applicants to positions in a global corporation, we examined whether cultural practices moderate the effect of selection fairness perceptions on organizational attractiveness and job choice. Positive relationships were anticipated between fairness perceptions and outcomes, and performance orientation and uncertainty avoidance cultural practices were hypothesized to moderate the effects of structural and information sharing perceptions, respectively. Structural fairness perceptions were positively associated with both outcomes, but information‐sharing perceptions were significantly related only to organizational attractiveness. National variability in the effect of selection fairness perceptions was observed only for the effect of structural perceptions on organizational attractiveness. Performance orientation moderated this effect such that the strongest relationship was seen among applicants from more performance‐oriented countries.     

Do core self-evaluations and coping style influence the perception of job insecurity?

Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that affects more and more employees. Since worrying about potential job loss (quantitative job insecurity) or possible loss of valued job features (qualitative job insecurity) constitutes a subjective perception, it has been claimed that personality factors may be decisive for job insecurity perceptions. Furthermore, the perception of a stressor, in this case job insecurity, could be argued to be dependent on appraisals of available coping resources. This study investigates whether core self-evaluations predict job insecurity perceptions, and whether coping mediates this relationship, in a two-wave data set from a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N = 425). The results show that core self-evaluations had a negative total effect on both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity. Core self-evaluations were positively related to problem-focused coping but not to emotion-focused coping. However, there was no mediating effect of coping style on the association between core self-evaluations and job insecurity.     

Core Job Characteristic and Uncertainty Avoidance: Into the Black Box of Transformational Leadership Effect on Creativity

Drawing upon the job characteristic model and the “management of meaning” perspective, this study examines the process and conditions through which transformational leadership fosters employee creativity. Our results reveal that the effect of transformational leadership on creativity is mediated by employees’ perceptions of core job characteristics (variety, identity, significance, autonomy, feedback). This mediation effect is further moderated by employees’ uncertainty avoidance orientation. Specifically, transformational leaders foster creativity through followers’ perceptions of core job characteristics only among employees low on uncertainty avoidance. The association between enhanced job characteristics and creativity is more positive for employees with low uncertainty avoidance orientation than those with high uncertainty avoidance orientation. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The role of career adaptability and work conditions on general and professional well-being

This study, conducted with a representative sample of employed and unemployed adults living in Switzerland (N = 2002), focuses on work conditions (in terms of professional insecurity and job demands), career adaptability, and professional and general well-being. Analyses of covariance highlighted that both unemployed and employed participants with low job insecurity reported higher scores on career adaptability and several dimensions (notably on control) than employed participants with high job insecurity. Moreover, structural equation modeling for employed participants showed that, independent of work conditions, adaptability resources were positively associated both with general and professional well-being. As expected professional outcomes were strongly related to job strain and professional insecurity, emphasizing the central role of the work environment. Finally, career adaptability partially mediated the relationship between job strain and professional insecurity, and the outcome well-being.     

Core Self-Evaluations and Job and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating and Moderated Mediating Role of Job Insecurity

This study examined the mediating role of job insecurity in the relationship between core self-evaluations (CSE) and job satisfaction, while also investigating the moderating role of job insecurity in the mediated relationship between CSE and life satisfaction via job satisfaction. Survey data were collected from a sample of 346 full-time employees in Taiwan. We found that job insecurity partially mediated the CSE-job satisfaction relationship. Moreover, we found that job insecurity moderated not only the relationship between CSE and job satisfaction but also the mediated relationship between CSE and life satisfaction via job satisfaction. Specifically, both the CSE-job satisfaction relationship and the CSE-job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship became stronger when job insecurity was low. Our results emphasize the importance of raising employees' CSE, which is beneficial not only for diminishing their perceptions of job insecurity, but also for boosting their job and life satisfaction. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

居危思变?工作不安全感对创新行为的差异化影响?

企业往往在员工管理和组织创新上处于“两难困境”——难以提供稳定工作但又不得不依赖员工实现组织创新, 这就使得研究员工工作不安全感对创新行为的影响至关重要。企业员工遭遇不同环境威胁带来的工作不安全感时, 创新行为存在差异。本文在威胁焦点下深化工作不安全感概念, 并基于“以变量为中心”和“以人为中心”的研究思路, 探讨其对创新行为的差异化影响过程。首先, 结合环境威胁来源与主观感知, 把工作不安全感分为岗位焦点工作不安全感和人员焦点工作不安全感两个维度, 并将编制测量量表。其次, 期望运用纵向研究设计, 通过分析多时点的员工-主管配对数据, 基于情境调节焦点和工作激情的链式中介作用, 来揭示岗位焦点工作不安全感对创新行为的负向影响, 以及人员焦点工作不安全感对创新行为的倒U型影响。最后, 将采取“以人为中心”的研究思路, 运用潜在剖面分析方法探讨工作不安全感潜在类型及其对创新行为的影响。研究结果将有助于推进工作不安全感的概念和效用研究, 也为企业如何有效促进创新提供对策建议。     

Job insecurity in a sample of Canadian civil servants as a function of personality and perceived job characteristics

Economic downturns and organisational changes have stimulated studies on the importance of job security for public employees; however, there has been some disagreement as to whether job insecurity should be defined using a single- or a two-factor model, on how to measure it and which antecedents and consequences are linked to it. Questionnaires measuring job insecurity as well as personality traits and job characteristics as possible antecedent variables, and job performance and job satisfaction as possible consequences were completed by a sample of 71 federal government employees during recent important government downsizing. A multiple regression analysis indicated that job insecurity, defined as a combination of organisational or personal vulnerability, was significantly related to only two antecedent variables, i.e., Neuroticism and job characteristics. Further regression analyses indicated that job insecurity was a statistically significant moderator but only between one consequence, i.e., intention to quit, and the job characteristics variable. These results along with methodological issues and further research, are discussed.     

A model for the effects of job insecurity on performance,turnover intention,and absenteeism

This study investigates the effects of job insecurity on four organizationally important outcomes: in‐role behaviour, organizational citizenship behaviour, turnover intention, and absenteeism. A model is tested in which job insecurity is simultaneously a hindrance and a challenge stressor. In particular, job insecurity is proposed to have a predominantly harmful effect on performance, turnover intention, and absenteeism, and it is argued that these effects are mediated by (reduced) work attitudes. In addition, job insecurity is also assumed to affect these behaviours in the opposite way (i.e. a suppressor effect) because job insecurity might motivate employees to make themselves more valuable to the organization by working harder and being less absent. The model is tested with a sample of 136 German non‐managerial employees. Data from supervisors (i.e. in‐role behaviour and organizational citizenship behaviour), the company's personnel files (i.e. absenteeism), and self‐reports (i.e. job insecurity, work attitudes, turnover intention, in‐role behaviour, and organizational citizenship behaviour) were used. Structural equation modelling showed that a model that included both negative and positive effects fitted the data best. The negative effect was stronger than the positive effect. The results show that the effects of job insecurity are more complex than previously assumed. In addition, the results also extend previous research into hindrance and challenge stressors because they show that stressors should not be categorized as either hindrance or challenge. Instead, it might be more appropriate to conceptualize hindrance and challenge as two dimensions.     

Job insecurity and creativity: The buffering effect of self‐affirmation and work‐affirmation

It is well documented that job insecurity is a detrimental work stressor. The literature aimed at counteracting the adverse outcomes of job insecurity has focused on either individual differences, which are less amenable to modification, or organizational‐level interventions, which largely depend on organizational initiatives. This study introduced a self‐affirmation intervention to working adults and examined whether self‐affirmation could weaken the negative association between job insecurity and creativity. In order to enrich self‐affirmation theory and increase the applicability of the intervention to the workplace, this study also investigated whether work‐affirmation could attenuate the negative relationship between job insecurity and creativity. In a quasi‐experiment with employees recruited from Mturk, I found that a negative link between job insecurity and creativity, but not among those who were given an opportunity to affirm one's value (i.e., self‐affirmation) or one's work (i.e., work‐affirmation).