Johnny Hellgren

A Two-dimensional Approach to Job Insecurity: Consequences for Employee Attitudes and Well-being

The issue of job insecurity has received growing recognition in connection with increased unemployment and the use of large workforce reductions to improve organizational effectiveness and competitive ability. Although research suggests that job insecurity is negatively related to employee work attitudes and well-being, some issues concerning these relationships have not yet been fully addressed. First, concerns about the continued existence of ones job (quantitative insecurity) and important job features (qualitative insecurity) could relate differently to the outcomes. Second, empirical research has not systematically controlled for mood dispositions, although a growing body of literature suggests that this should be a standard procedure when self-rated stress reactions are measured. Third, most studies are cross-sectional and thus unable to control for prior levels of the outcome variables. Based on longitudinal data from a Swedish organization undergoing downsizing (N =375), this study revealed that ...

The moderating role of personality characteristics on the relationship between job insecurity and strain

The experience of job insecurity has been linked to several different outcomes, such as negative attitudes towards work and the organization, turnover intention, as well as health complaints. However, since the strength of these effects have been found to vary across studies, it is vital to identify factors that could influence the relationships. The present study examines the moderating role of three personality characteristics (negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and external locus of control) on the relation between job insecurity and outcomes (mental health complaints, job dissatisfaction, and job-induced tension). Data from 400 nurses at a Swedish acute care hospital (response rate 71%; 91% women, aged 20–68 years) showed that both job insecurity and personality were related to strain. Also, the data indicated some buffering effect of personality. Despite the gender bias of the sample, the study provides additional support for the notion that job insecurity affects strain even after controlling for individual characteristics. The study also expands the literature on job insecurity by pointing out the influence of personality characteristics on the relationship between stressors and strain.

Individual and Organizational Consequences of Job Insecurity: A European Study

The increased flexibility on the labour market has given rise to feelings of job insecurity in many individuals. The stress literature suggests that the fear of losing ones job could be as detrimental as losing the job itself, and numerous studies indicate that job insecurity may indeed have important consequences for both the individual and the organization. However, the effects of job insecurity are typically greater with regard to short-term rather than long-term consequences. Therefore, the aim of this article is to investigate if short-term consequences (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) mediate the impact of job insecurity on long-term outcomes (mental health complaints and turnover intention). Survey data from four European countries show that the effect of job insecurity on turnover intention is mediated by organizational commitment and job satisfaction. In contrast, it appears that work attitudes partially mediate the effect of job insecurity on mental health complaints.

Exit, Voice and Loyalty Reactions to Job Insecurity in Sweden: Do Unionized and Non‐unionized Employees Differ?

Although job insecurity has received growing recognition in connection with the transformation of working life, little is known about how unionization affects its consequences. Data from Swedish health care employees indicate that job insecurity is related primarily to coping strategies in the exit and voice domains. Union members were less inclined to make use of the exit and voice options compared with their non‐unionized co‐workers, and more typically expressed loyalty to the organization. The collective support derived from union membership may make individual voice expressions less important, a finding that has to be replicated in countries with lower unionization rates.

European perspectives on job insecurity : Editorial introduction

The year 2010 represents an important year in job insecurity research, as represented by the publication of two special issues. In addition to the present one, the journal International Studies of Management & Organization publishes a special issue (Reisel and Probst, 2010) dedicated to the research initiative developed by Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984). Some of the critical questions, then, concern how job insecurity research has evolved over the years, what new knowledge has been generated, and what aspects still deserve additional attention. These questions served as the background for a Small Group Meeting on ‘Job Insecurity in Europe: State of the Art and New Directions’, which we organized in Belgium in September 2008. The meeting, sponsored by the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology and hosted by the K.U. Leuven, attracted 34 researchers from no less than 17 countries. The presentations advanced the understanding of the nature and measurement of job insecurity, focused on factors that may make employees more prone to experience uncertainty regarding the future of their jobs, highlighted outcomes that hitherto have not attracted much attention, and explored potential moderators and mediators of the insecurity–outcome relations. After the meeting, participants were subsequently invited to submit articles for potential inclusion in the present special issue, and we are proud to present a special issue with high-quality studies addressing important topics in contemporary job insecurity research.

Perceptions of Justice in Connection with Individualized Pay Setting

Individualized pay is typically assumed to enhance employee work motivation, but a precondition for such beneficial effects is that employees perceive the pay-setting process to be fair. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the nature, determinants and consequences of pay justice. Questionnaire data, obtained from a Swedish nationally representative sample of nurses, provided support for distinguishing between distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice. The results also showed that perceptions of pay justice were predicted by both work climate variables and factors related to the pay-setting procedure, even after controlling for demographic characteristics. Although pay justice had only marginal effects on employee work attitudes and behaviour when demographics, work climate and pay-related factors had been taken into account, justice was found to be an important goal in itself, given that a prerequisite for the success of any pay system is that it is perceived as fair.

REPEATED DOWNSIZING: Attitudes and well- being for surviving personnel in a Swedish retail company

The study evaluates consequences of the major restructuring and downsizing of a large Swedish retail company. Efforts were made to investigate the impacts of perceived job insecurity, influence over the restructuring process, and perceived fairness of the process on well-being of remaining personnel, “survivors” of the process. A second aim was to investigate effects of repeated downsizing on work perceptions, attitudes and health of “survivors”. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire on two occasions with a 12-month interval. The response rate was 71% for survivors at Time 1 (n=555), and 71% again for survivors at Time 2 (n=395). Results indicated that the most important predictors of distress at Time 1 was perceived job insecurity and perceived participation in the process. Furthermore, that a new wave of organizational change between measurement occasions was associated with higher personal ratings of workload and lower ratings of job satisfaction, whereas mean distress scores remained unchanged. At Time 2 perceived insecurity together with experience from repeated downsizing were critical factors predicting distress symptoms.

Can Union Support Reduce the Negative Effects of Job Insecurity on Well-Being?

In the context of rapidly changing environmental conditions, innumerable organizations engage in restructuring activities. As a consequence, many employees feel insecure about the future existence of their jobs. While research suggests that such job insecurity has negative consequences for employee attitudes and well-being, less is known about if and how these negative effects can be alleviated by social support from the union. This present study tests for a potential moderator effect of perceived union support in the insecurity-mental health complaints relation using survey data collected among unionized workers in Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. The results indicate that job insecurity is associated with mental health complaints in all participating countries and that union support relates negatively to mental health complaints in one of the participating countries. However, no interaction effect was obtained, thus indicating that union support does not reduce the effects of job insecurity on mental health complaints.

Job Insecurity, Union Support and Intentions to Resign Membership: A Psychological Contract Perspective

This article uses psychological contract theory to explore the consequences of job insecurity among union members. We hypothesize that the perception of job insecurity will correlate with a lower level of perceived union support and a higher intention to resign union membership. We also test whether the relationship between job insecurity and membership turnover is mediated by (a lack of) perceived union support. In Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, an association is found between job insecurity and a reduction in perceived union support, and between job insecurity and the intention to resign membership; this association is also fully mediated by (a lack of) perceived union support. None of these hypotheses are corroborated in Sweden. We discuss implications of these findings for future research and for unions in Europe.

Alternative Work Arrangements

In recent years there has been increased employer use of alternative forms of employment contracts to supplement more traditional employment arrangements. Using data from Swedish health-care workers (N=711; 86% women), this study compares full-time and part-time permanent employees with contingent workers and sets out to answer the following questions: Do workers on non-traditional work schedules experience more or less (1) job related role stress, (2) involvement in the organization, and (3) well-being? Contingent workers were found to experience more job insecurity and role ambiguity but also lower levels of somatic complaints as compared to core employees. On a general level, contingent workers expressed levels of job involvement and organizational commitment almost comparable to full-time employees while part-time workers held less favorable work attitudes. The results also revealed gender differences among contingent workers-women on temporary contracts expressed substantially more job insecurity and somatic complaints but also felt more involved in their jobs and more committed to the organization than men. Given that there exists a variety of contingent employment arrangements and that the occupation alstatus of these differ, additional research is needed to increase our understanding of the consequences of different forms of alternative work arrangements.