No abstract

The large majority of studies on job insecurity have focused upon the individual level. Recent research has also paid some attention to job insecurity at the level of the organisation, referred to as job insecurity climate. This research has shown negative relationships between job insecurity climate and employees' individual job attitudes. Nevertheless, in these studies no attention has been paid to organisational climate strength, in spite of the recommendations formulated in the literature on this topic. In response, this study aims to account for climate strength in the relationship between job insecurity and job attitudes. We hypothesise that climate strength is related to job satisfaction, organisational commitment, work involvement, and organisational trust. Moreover, we hypothesise that the relationship between job insecurity climate and these outcomes may be stronger when there is a strong agreement among employees concerning their job insecurity perceptions compared to when there is a weak agreement (strong versus weak climate strength). Results based on a Spanish sample of 428 employees from 20 organisations largely supported our hypotheses except in the case of work involvement: climate strength was negatively related to job attitudes, and the relationship between job insecurity climate and individual job attitudes was moderated by climate strength.

Extensive use of temporary employment may create a climate of job insecurity among permanent workers in a specific organization. This climate is likely conditional upon the proportion of temporary workers in the organization, and upon the reasons for hiring temporary workers. The percentage of temporary workers may relate to permanent workers’ shared perceptions of job insecurity. Employers’ motives for hiring temporary workers may relate to permanent workers’ perceptions of job insecurity when these motives threaten the position of permanent workers. Conversely, the relationship with a climate of job insecurity is likely negative when the organization hires temporary workers to support permanent workers. Analyses are based on samples of Belgian ( N = 216) and Spanish ( N = 404) permanent workers among 14 and 29 organizations, respectively. The results show a positive relationship between the percentage of temporary workers and a climate of job insecurity among permanent workers. Few motives were predictive for permanent workers’ climate of job insecurity. The findings are interpreted with reference to the specific Belgian and Spanish context.

A large amount of research has focused on job insecurity, but without obtaining consistent results. Some authors have pointed that this variability might be due to the operationalization of job insecurity. Different types of job insecurity can provoke different employee reactions. The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of job insecurity, understood as temporary employment (objective job insecurity) and personal perception (subjective job insecurity), on affective well-being. In addition, the moderator roles of job self-efficacy and collective efficacy are examined in the relationship between job insecurity and employees’ affective well-being. This study was carried out with 1435 employees from 138 Spanish and Austrian organizations. The results showed a different effect of job insecurity depending on its conceptualization. Only subjective job insecurity was negatively related to affective well-being. Moreover, both self- and collective efficacy moderated the subjective job insecurity–outcomes relation, ameliorating employees’ well-being levels when they perceived job insecurity.

With globalization and increased international competition have come more flexible forms of employment and increased job insecurity. The authors address the impact of perceived job insecurity on employees' work attitudes and intentions. After reviewing relevant research on stress theory and the relationship between job insecurity and its consequences, they test two hypotheses on 942 employees in Spain, namely: first, that job insecurity relates negatively to job satisfaction and organizational commitment and positively to intention to leave; and, second, that job insecurity, economic need and employability interact in the prediction of these outcomes. s a result of globalization and international competition, the labour mar-