Going beyond workplace stressors: Economic crisis and perceived employability in relation to psychological distress and job dissatisfaction.

Abstract

The macro-economic context and crisis management are now becoming salient issues among employees. Low levels of fear about the economic situation and the belief that one is capable of obtaining new employment may enable individuals to maintain mental health and job satisfaction in austere times. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship of fear of the economic crisis and non-employability with job satisfaction and psychological distress, while controlling for demographics factors, stress exposures, and high conflict perceptions. This cross-sectional study was conducted in three Italian organizations comprising 679 workers with a response rate over 60%. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that, after controlling for demographics, psychological demands, lack of job control, and workplace bullying, low perceived employability and fear of the economic crisis were positively associated with psychological distress and negatively associated with job satisfaction. As an emerging topic of study, it appears that economic stress is an important construct in the nomological network for studying organizational health. The present study complements existing stress theories by suggesting that features of the external environment are relevant and important determinants of psychological distress and job dissatisfaction.

Varieties of crisis and working conditions: A comparative study of Greece and Serbia

“…The European Job Quality Index (Leschke et al, 2012) ranked Greece as the worst performer, highlighting a decline in full-time employment and wages and an increase in job insecurity. With companies employing fewer people, workload and pressure increased significantly for those remaining, with a rise in bullying behaviours (Giorgi et al, 2015). Within this context, some research has also focused on studying the prevalence of employee silence in SMEs within the Greek long-term economic crisis context (Prouska and Psychogios, 2018).…”

Many Hands Lighter Work? Deciphering the Relationship between Adverse Working Conditions and Organization Citizenship Behaviours in Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises during a Severe Economic Crisis

“…Third, job insecurity experienced by both employees and managers during an economic crisis can increase the risk of negative employer/manager attitudes such as bullying at work (De Cuyper, Notelaers and De Witte, ; Giorgi, Shoss and Leon‐Perez, ; Salin, ). Kranz and Steger () argue that, when an economic crisis turns into a corporate crisis, it leads to hierarchical decision‐making and authoritarian leadership styles.…”

The Challenge of Fostering Healthy Organizations: An Empirical Study on the Role of Workplace Relational Civility in Acceptance of Change and Well-Being

“…In this postmodern era, work and well-being play a key role in the health of individuals, and it is important to verify here the effect of a negative working place on the health and well-being of workers (Sparks et al, 2001; Arenas et al, 2015; Giorgi et al, 2015, 2016; Mucci et al, 2016). The insecurity of the current world of work highlights the need to promote “healthy organizations” from a primary prevention point of view (Hage et al, 2007; Kenny and Hage, 2009; Di Fabio and Kenny, 2015; Di Fabio and Gori, 2016b).…”