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.

The aim of this study is to examine job insecurity from a multilevel perspective and to investigate the roles of two types of job insecurity – job insecurity climate and individual job insecurity – for work-related attitudes and health outcomes. It further explores the role of the workgroup – as a social context – in shaping job insecurity perceptions. Data were collected from white-collar employees in a Swedish organization, with 126 participants nested in 18 groups. The results show that 19% of the variance in job insecurity climate perceptions, and none of the variance in individual job insecurity perceptions, could be attributed to group membership. Further, compared to other members of their group, those perceiving a stronger job insecurity climate reported lower levels of negative self-rated health and higher burnout scores. These results imply that the workgroup is an important social context for job insecurity climate perceptions.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a measure of job insecurity climate by: first, testing whether job insecurity climate and individual job insecurity are two separate constructs; and second, investigating the relative importance of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate in predicting work-related and health-related outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected by questionnaires in a simple stratified random sample of 1,380 white-collar workers in Sweden. The response rate was 56 percent. Findings -Confirmatory factor analyses showed that job insecurity climate was distinct from individual job insecurity. Four separate ridge regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity climate was a significant predictor of demands, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and poor self-rated health and that quantitative job insecurity climate predicted demands and work-family conflict.Research limitations/implications -The study is based on self-reports, which may involve common method bias. The cross-sectional study design limits the possibility to make causal inferences regarding the relationship between job insecurity climate and outcomes. Practical implications -Future studies may consider measuring job insecurity climate in line with a referent-shift model. Work environment surveys in organizations that include measures of individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate can provide practitioners with a fuller picture of the psychosocial work environment. Originality/value -The present study adds to previous research by introducing a new approach to measuring and conceptualizing job insecurity climate.

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.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate over time. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected among readers of a Flemish Human Resources magazine. The data collection was repeated three times, resulting in a longitudinal dataset with information from 419 employees working in Flanders. A cross-lagged design was used in which both individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate were modeled at all times and reciprocal relationships between these constructs could be investigated. Findings – The results showed that perceptions of individual job insecurity were related to perceiving a climate of job insecurity six months later. However, no evidence was found for the effect of job insecurity climate on individual job insecurity. This suggests that job insecurity origins in the individual’s perceptions of job insecurity and subsequently expands to include perceptions of a job insecurity climate at the workplace. Research limitations/implications – First, the data used in this study were collected solely by self-reports, which could have introduced a common method bias to the study. Second, as with all non-experimental studies, the possibility that a third variable could have affected the results cannot categorically be ruled out. Practical implications – Managers and human resource practitioners who wish to prevent job insecurity in organizations may consider focussing on individual job insecurity perceptions when planning preventive efforts. Originality/value – By investigating the relationship between individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate over time, this study contributes to the understanding of job insecurity, both as an individual and a social phenomenon.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible role of job insecurity climate as a moderator in the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire data were collected from 466 employees working in 14 organizations from both the private and public sector. Following the core tenets of social exchange theory and occupational stress theories, the authors argue that ideally job insecurity is studied as a climate-level construct, given the fact that intra-group social exchange processes strongly influence the formation of employee perceptions about specific aspects of their work context (e.g. job insecurity). Findings In line with one of the hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that LMX is significantly and positively related to OCBs. In addition, the authors found support for a negative moderation effect, such that LMX has a less strongly positive relationship with extra-role behaviors that are beneficial to the organization when job insecurity climate is high. Originality/value The study contributes to the limited empirical scholarly research on job insecurity climate and its correlates. Management and HR professionals in working organizations are advised to focus on preventive measures (e.g. to invest in the professional development of their employees, that is focus on employability enhancement, in order to reduce job insecurity) as well as on participation-based interventions.

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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.