Can job insecurity be managed? Evaluating an organizational-level intervention addressing the negative effects of restructuring

How Is Job Insecurity Related to Workers' Work-Family Conflict during the Pandemic? The Mediating Role of Working Excessively and Techno-Overload

The current labor market is characterized by drastic changes linked to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and post-COVID-19 transformations, which have decreased job security and job stability. As a result, the feeling of losing one's job has become even more common among European workers. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether and how job insecurity would be related to work-family conflict during the pandemic. Online self-report questionnaires assessing job insecurity, working excessively, techno-overload, and work-to-family conflict were completed by 266 workers from Italy. Descriptive analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation mediation models were conducted. Job insecurity was positively associated with work-to-family conflict, both directly and indirectly, as mediated by techno-overload and a tendency to work excessively. This study advances the literature, as it is the first to identify techno-overload and working excessively as parallel psychological mechanisms linking job insecurity to work-family conflict among Italian workers during the pandemic. Workers could benefit from technological workload monitoring programs, techno effectiveness, and time management training programs. Companies could also consider implementing family-friendly and digital disconnection practices.

Integrated Patterns of Subjective Job Insecurity: A Multigroup Person-Centered Study

Past research attests to the pivotal role of subjective job insecurity (JI) as a major stressor within the workplace. However, most of this research has used a variable-centered approach to evaluate the relative importance of one (or more) JI facets in explaining employee physical and psychological well-being. Relatively few studies have adopted a person-centered approach to investigate how different appraisals of JI co-occur within employees and how these might lead to the emergence of distinct latent profiles of JI, and, moreover, how those profiles might covary with well-being, personal resources, and performance. Using conservation of resources (COR) theory as our overarching theoretical framework and latent profile analysis as our methodological approach, we sought to fill this gap. To evaluate the external validity of our study results, we used employee sample data from two different countries (Italy and the USA) with, respectively, n = 743 and n = 494 employees. Results suggested the emergence of three profiles (i.e., the "secure", the "average type", and the "insecure") in both country samples. The "secure" group systematically displayed a less vulnerable profile in terms of physical and psychological well-being, self-rated job performance, positive orientation, and self-efficacy beliefs than the "insecure" group, while the "average" type position on the outcomes' continua was narrower. Theoretically, this supports COR's notion of loss spirals by suggesting that differing forms of JI appraisals tend to covary within-person. Practical implications in light of labor market trends and the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.

Fear of Losing Jobs during COVID-19: Can Psychological Capital Alleviate Job Insecurity and Job Stress?

Job insecurity is a growing concern among bank employees. In this research, we examined whether psychological capital can alleviate bank workers’ perceptions of job insecurity and job stress during COVID-19. In particular, we aimed to examine this relationship at both the individual and work-unit levels of analysis. Based on the data collected from 520 bank tellers in 53 bank branches in Thailand, our multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analyses revealed that there was significant between-branch variation in the levels of psychological capital (15%), job insecurity (23%) and job stress (24%). In particular, perceptions of job insecurity were found to have a positive effect on job stress at both levels of analysis. We also found that psychological capital significantly reduced perceptions of job insecurity and job stress at the individual level. These findings emphasize that perceptions of job insecurity can emerge at both the individual and work-unit levels. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Influence of job insecurity on coal miners’ safety performance: the role of emotional exhaustion

Purpose

Under the de-capacity circumstances of coal production in China, the purpose of this paper is to examine the processes underlying the association between job insecurity (JI) and miners’ safety performance, proposing that resource consumption is a prominent theoretical explanation for this association. By developing a mediation model, the authors examined the mediating role of emotional exhaustion (EE) between JI and miners’ safety performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the time-lagged survey method, the authors collected 349 samples from three coal mines in Shanxi Lu’an Group, the hypotheses were tested through confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation model analysis and bootstrapping in AMOS software.

Findings

Results shed light on that JI negatively predicts the safety performance subfactors, including safety compliance (SC) and safety participation (SP). EE plays a partial mediating role between JI and safety performance. In particular, the finding indicated that JI exerts a more significant impact on SP than SC, revealing that JI produces a more significant adverse effect on miners’ conscious safety behaviors than skill-based safety behaviors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to display the influence path of JI as a stressor on miners’ safety performance in the coal mine rather than a stimulus. The mediation model results not only help us understand the association between JI and safety performance but also provide a feasible way to mitigate the negative effects of JI.

Acting Proactively to Manage Job Insecurity: How Worrying About the Future of One's Job May Obstruct Future-Focused Thinking and Behavior

An increasing number of people experience insecurity about the future of their job, making it more important than ever to manage this insecurity. While previous research suggests that proactive coping is a promising way to alleviate job insecurity, we suggest that, paradoxically, it may be particularly difficult to act proactively when feeling emotionally distressed about the future of one’s job. Drawing on the principle of resource scarcity and the Conservation of Resources theory, we propose that affective job insecurity ignites a scarcity mindset that inhibits workers’ future focus and cognitive functioning, thereby undermining proactive career behavior. Additionally, we examine whether income adequacy can compensate for these negative consequences of job insecurity. Results of a three-wave survey study among 108 self-employed professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that initial affective job insecurity was negatively related to cognitive functioning but unrelated to future focus. Yet, the latter relationship was moderated by income adequacy: affective job insecurity was positively related to future focus when participants reported high income adequacy. In turn, future focus was positively related to proactive career behavior, which was subsequently related to lower cognitive job insecurity. Thus, while replicating the finding that workers can proactively manage their cognitive job insecurity, we also showed that initial affective job insecurity may obstruct people’s cognitive functioning. We discuss how our results signal a Matthew effect, in which job insecure people with sufficient means are able to look ahead and proactively build resources to change their career, while job insecure people with insufficient means may fall behind.

Developing Initial Middle Range Theories in Realist Evaluation: A Case of an Organisational Intervention

(1) Background: Realist evaluation is a promising approach for evaluating organisational interventions. Crucial to realist evaluation is the development and testing of middle range theories (MRTs). MRTs are programme theories that outline how the intervention mechanisms work in a specific context to bring about certain outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, no organisational intervention study has yet developed initial MRTs. This study aimed to develop initial MRTs based on qualitative evidence from the development phase of an organisational intervention in a large multi-national organisation, the US food service industry. (2) Methods: Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with the organisation's managers, five focus groups with a total of 30 employees, and five worksite observations. Template analysis was used to analyse data. (3) Results: Four initial MRTs were developed based on four mechanisms of participation, leadership commitment, communication, and tailoring the intervention to fit the organisational context to formulate 'what may work for whom in which circumstances?' in organisational interventions; (4) Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into 'how' and 'which' initial MRTs can be developed in organisational interventions.

Implementing practices focused on workplace health and psychological wellbeing: A systematic review

RATIONALE

Workplace health and wellbeing practices (WHWPs) often fail to improve psychological health or wellbeing because of implementation failure. Thus, implementation should be evaluated to improve the effectiveness of WHWPs.

OBJECTIVE

We conducted a systematic review to identify critical success factors for WHWP implementation and gaps in the evidence. Doing so provides a platform for future theoretical development.

METHODS

We reviewed 74 separate studies that assessed the implementation of WHWPs and their effects on psychological health or psychological wellbeing. Most studies were from advanced industrial Western democracies (71). Intervention types included primary (e.g., work redesign, 37 studies; and health behavior change, 8 studies), secondary (e.g., mindfulness training, 11 studies), tertiary (e.g., focused on rehabilitation, 9 studies), and multifocal (e.g., including components of primary and secondary, 9 studies).

RESULTS

Tangible changes preceded improvements in health and wellbeing, indicating intervention success cannot be attributed to non-specific factors. Some interventions had beneficial effects through mechanisms not planned as part of the intervention. Three factors were associated with successful WHWP implementation: continuation, learning, and effective governance.

CONCLUSIONS

The review indicates future research could focus on how organizations manage conflict between WHWP implementation and existing organizational processes, and the dynamic nature of organizational contexts that affect and are affected by WHWP implementation. This systematic review is registered [PROSPERO: the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews ID: CRD42019119656].

Ensuring Organization-Intervention Fit for a Participatory Organizational Intervention to Improve Food Service Workers' Health and Wellbeing: Workplace Organizational Health Study

OBJECTIVE

Food-service workers' health and wellbeing is impacted by their jobs and work environments. Formative research methods were used to explore working conditions impacting workers' health to inform intervention planning and implementation and to enhance the intervention's "fit" to the organization.

METHODS

Four qualitative methods (worker focus groups; manager interviews; worksite observations; multi-stakeholder workshop) explored in-depth and then prioritized working conditions impacting workers' health as targets for an intervention.

RESULTS

Prioritized working conditions included: ergonomics; work intensity; career development; and job enrichment. Data revealed necessary intervention mechanisms to enhance intervention implementation: worker and management communication infrastructure; employee participation in intervention planning and implementation; tailored worksite strategies; and ensuring leadership commitment.

CONCLUSIONS

These targeted, comprehensive methods move away from a typical focus on generic working conditions, for example, job demands and physical work environment, to explore those conditions unique to an organization. Thereby, enhancing "intervention-fit" at multiple levels within the company context.

Cold wind of change: Associations between organizational change, turnover intention, overcommitment and quality of care in Spanish and Swedish eldercare organizations

Aim

To examine the association between organizational change, turnover intentions, overcommitment and perceptions of quality of care among nurses and nursing assistants employed in eldercare organizations.

Design

A longitudinal survey (baseline, 12-month follow-up) was used.

Methods

A panel sample of 226 eldercare employees in Spain and Sweden responded to survey questions concerning organizational change, turnover intentions, overcommitment and perceptions of quality of care. The data were analysed using structural equational modelling.

Results

We found a statistically significant positive relationship between organizational change, employees' turnover intention and overcommitment. We also found a statistically significant negative relationship between organizational change and perceived quality of care.

When and why do negative organization-related career shocks impair career optimism? A conditional indirect effect model

Purpose

This study investigates when and why negative organization-related career shocks affect career optimism, which is a positive career-planning attitude. The indirect effect of negative organization-related career shocks on career optimism via job insecurity and the role of perceived organizational career support as a first-stage moderator were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Three-wave time-lagged data from a sample of 728 employees in Switzerland was used. Time-lagged correlations, an indirect effect model and a conditional indirect effect model with bootstrapping were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

First, this study showed a significant negative correlation between negative organization-related career shocks (T1) and career optimism (T3), a positive correlation between negative organization-related career shocks (T1) and job insecurity (T2) and a negative correlation between job insecurity (T2) and career optimism (T3). Second, findings revealed that negative organization-related career shocks (T1) have a negative indirect effect on career optimism (T3) via job insecurity (T2). Third, perceived organizational career support (T1) buffers the indirect effect of negative organization-related career shocks (T1) on career optimism (T3).

Originality/value

This study provides an initial examination of the relationship between negative organization-related career shocks and career optimism by applying assumptions from the JD-R model and Conservation of Resources theory. Implications about how to deal with negative career shocks in HRM and career counseling are discussed.

The Effect of Organizational Changes on the Psychosocial Work Environment: Changes in Psychological and Social Working Conditions Following Organizational Changes

Purpose: The present study aimed to clarify the prospective effects of various types and frequencies of organizational changes on aspects in the psychosocial work environment. Methods: The study had a prospective, full-panel, repeated measures design. Data were collected by self-administered, online questionnaires, with a 2-year interval between measurement occasions. Five types of organizational change were assessed - company restructuring, downsizing, layoffs, partial closure, and partial outsourcing. The effects of change on eleven, specific work factors were measured utilizing QPS Nordic. At baseline, 12652 employees participated, while 8965 responded at follow-up. Generalized estimating equations were utilized to estimate the effects of change taking place within the last 12 months or more than 24 months prior. Results: Cross-sectional analyses, i.e., changes occurring within the last 12 months, showed all 11 work factors to be statistically significantly associated with the organizational changes restructuring, downsizing, and partial closure (coefficients ranging -0.28 to 0.04). In the prospective analyses, i.e., the effects of change taking place more than 24 months prior, associations were no longer significant for a number of work factors, although all types of organizational change remained significantly associated with at least three work factors (coefficients ranging -0.14 to 0.05). Following repeated organizational changes, statistically significant associations were shown for all 11 work factors (coefficients ranging from 0.39 to -0.04). Conclusion: Following both separate and repeated organizational change, various psychological and social work factors were altered, with the most pronounced effects following repeated change. These results suggest the implementing organizational change, especially repeated change, may have an adverse effect on various parts of the psychosocial work environment. The negative effects of a company's psychosocial working conditions may contribute to the adverse health effects often observed following such changes and help explain why many change initiatives fail to reach its intended results.

Job Insecurity, Occupational Future Time Perspective, and Psychological Distress Among Casino Employees

The primary goal of this study was to examine job insecurity as a work stressor predicting psychological distress (i.e. depression, anxiety, and stress) among casino employees in Macao, China. The study was also the first one to test whether occupational future time perspective mediated the above relations. We recruited 1014 participants, who voluntarily took part in an anonymous survey in October 2016. Results suggested that job insecurity was positively related to psychological distress (i.e. depression, anxiety and stress). In line with our hypothesis, we also found that occupational future time perspective significantly mediated the association between job insecurity and psychological distress. The findings suggest that, in psychological health promotion campaigns among casino employees, job insecurity is a key factor to be addressed via organizational policies and activities.

Improving Working Conditions to Promote Worker Safety, Health, and Wellbeing for Low-Wage Workers: The Workplace Organizational Health Study

This paper addresses a significant gap in the literature by describing a study that tests the feasibility and efficacy of an organizational intervention to improve working conditions, safety, and wellbeing for low-wage food service workers. The Workplace Organizational Health Study tests the hypothesis that an intervention targeting the work organization and environment will result in improvements in workers' musculoskeletal disorders and wellbeing. This ongoing study is being conducted in collaboration with a large food service company. Formative evaluation was used to prioritize outcomes, assess working conditions, and define essential intervention elements. The theory-driven intervention is being evaluated in a proof-of-concept trial, conducted to demonstrate feasibility and potential efficacy using a cluster randomized design. Ten worksites were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. The 13-month intervention uses a comprehensive systems approach to improve workplace policies and practices. Using principles of participatory engagement, the intervention targets safety and ergonomics; work intensity; and job enrichment. The evaluation will provide a preliminary assessment of estimates of the intervention effect on targeted outcomes and inform understanding of the intervention implementation across worksites. This study is expected to provide insights on methods to improve working conditions in support of the safety and wellbeing of low-wage workers.

A Crossover Study From a Gender Perspective: The Relationship Between Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction, and Partners' Family Life Satisfaction

Background: In the last years, many changes have involved the labor context: new ways of working, more flexibility and uncertainty, new and more insecure job contracts. In this framework, perceived job insecurity, worker's perception about potential involuntary job loss, has received renewed interest, also for those workers with a permanent contract in Italy. Consequences of job insecurity on work-related outcomes such as job satisfaction have been demonstrated; nevertheless, its possible effects outside the workplace seem to be underestimated so far. Moreover, literature highlighted the importance to consider gender as a possible moderator in the relationship between one partner's stressors and the other partner's strain. Aim: According to spillover and crossover theories, this study aim was to investigate the relationship between job insecurity and family life satisfaction of both partners, through the mediation of job satisfaction. The model has been simultaneously tested in two groups, women and men, in a sample of permanent workers. Method: The research involved a convenience sample of 344 employees with permanent contract (53% female) from different occupational sectors. Participants (focal persons) and their partners filled out a self-report questionnaire. Results: The multi-group SEM indicated a full mediation of job satisfaction in the relationship between job insecurity on the one side, and both individual's and his/her partner's family life satisfaction on the other side in both groups. Conclusion: These study findings highlighted how job insecurity may be indirectly and negatively related to both members' family life satisfaction, through the mediation of job satisfaction. As regards gender, similar spillover and crossover patterns emerged, contributing to that literature that highlights a greater similarity in the models of interaction between work and family among women and men. Interventions should be aimed at reducing perception of job insecurity among workers, including those with permanent contract. Employers should improve communication and flow of information about future organizational changes. Moreover, interventions useful to monitor and reinforce employees' job satisfaction should be planned. Finally, career practitioners may provide counseling and coaching projects aimed at strengthening employees' employability and their ability to deal with changes.