Job insecurity and trust: Uncovering a mechanism linking job insecurity to well-being

© 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Job insecurity has well-documented negative effects for individuals as well as organisations. However, the mechanisms by which job insecurity relates to its outcomes have received less research attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate trust in the organisation as a potential mechanism that may explain why job insecurity relates to two well-documented outcomes: decreased job satisfaction and lowered mental health. These hypotheses were tested in a Swedish longitudinal sample that consists of employees (longitudinal n = 906) from three organisations, using structural equation modelling. Overall, the results showed support for our hypotheses. Our findings reveal an indirect effect of trust on job satisfaction, regardless of whether the previous levels of job satisfaction were controlled for. With regard to mental health, the indirect effect was only evident when previous levels of mental health were not controlled for. The results of this study contribute to our understanding about the intervening factors in the relationship between job insecurity and outcomes. Moreover, the results might be important for human resources departments and managers when there are indications that employees are worrying about the future of their jobs

The relationship between wealth and loneliness among older people across Europe: Is social participation protective?

Objective: 1. Examine the relationship between household wealth, social participation and loneliness among older people across Europe. 2. Investigate whether relationships vary by type of social participation (charity/volunteer work, sports/social clubs, educational/training course, and political/community organisations) and gender. 3. Examine whether social participation moderates the association between wealth and loneliness. Methods: Data (N = 29,795) were taken from the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which was collected during 2013 from 14 European countries. Loneliness was measured using the short version of the Revised-University of California, Los Angeles (R-UCLA) Loneliness Scale. We used multilevel logistic models stratified by gender to examine the relationships between variables, with individuals nested within countries. Results: The risk of loneliness was highest in the least wealthy groups and lowest in the wealthiest groups. Frequent social participation was associated with a lower risk of loneliness and moderated the association between household wealth and loneliness, particularly among men. Compared to the wealthiest men who often took part in formal social activities, the least wealthy men who did not participate had greater risk of loneliness (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.44 to 2.51). This increased risk was not observed among the least wealthy men who reported frequent participation in formal social activities (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.76 to 1.67). Conclusion: Participation in external social activities may help to reduce loneliness among older adults and potentially acts as a buffer against the adverse effects of socioeconomic disadvantage

Employee Resilience Scale (EmpRes): Technical Report

ISSN 1178-7279Building on definitions of organisational resilience, employee resilience is conceptualised as the capacity of employees, facilitated and supported by the organisation, to utilise resources to positively cope, adapt and thrive in response to changing work circumstances. To date, measures of resilience are more focused on capturing resilience as an individual characteristic, rather than something enabled by the organisation. The present report presents a preliminary validation of the Employee Resilience Scale (EmpRes)

The moderating effects of work-based and non-work based support on the relation between job insecurity and subsequent strain

Job insecurity is a stressor empirically linked to various negative outcomes, such as impaired work attitudes and adverse health symptoms. Less is known about how these negative consequences can be buffered. The present study investigates whether work-based and non-work based social support moderate the relation between job insecurity and subsequent strain. The results, based on Swedish longitudinal questionnaire data, show that job insecurity predicted strain, even after controlling for demographic variables and baseline levels. Non-work based support moderated the negative effect of job insecurity on mental health complaints and somatic complaints after controlling for baseline levels. The results suggest that employees can benefit from their support network during times of turbulence. Opsomming Werksonsekerheid is ’n stressor wat emperies verband hou met verskeie negatiewe uitkomste soos verlaagde werksgesindhede en nadelige gesondheidssimptome. Minder is bekend oor hoe hierdie negatiewe gevolge gebuffer kan word. Die huidige studie ondersoek of werks gebaseerde en nie-werks gebaseerde sosiale ondersteuning die verhouding tussen werksonsekerheid en daaropvolgende spanning modereer. Die resultate, gebaseer op Sweedse longitudinale vraelysdata, toon dat werksonsekerheid spanning voorpsel het, selfs na die kontrolering vir demografiese veranderlikes en basislyn veranderlikes. Nie-werks gebaseerde ondersteuning het die negatiewe effek van werksonsekerheid op psigiese ongesteldhede en somatiese simptome gemodereer nadat gekontroleer vir basislyn veranderlikes is. Die resultate stel voor dat werknemers voordeel kan trek uit hulle ondersteunings netwerk gedurende tye van turbulensie

There's more to the picture than meets the eye: A comparison of downsizing survivors with changed and unchanged job content

Organisational downsizing has become a frequently used strategy to improve organisational effectiveness and competitive ability. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of downsizing on employee work stress, attitudes and well-being by comparing survivors who had their work situation changed as a function of the downsizing process with survivors whose situation remained unaffected. Longitudinal questionnaire data were obtained during the course of downsizing. Survivors with a changed work situation reported higher levels of work stress, less favourable work attitudes and more health complaints as compared to survivors who did not have their work situation changed. Opsomming Organisasie hersturkturering het ’n voortdurende strategie geword om organisasie effektiwiteit en kompeterende vermoëns te verbeter. Die doel van die studie was om die effek wat herstrukturering op werknemers se werkstres, gesindhede en welstand het, te ondersoek, deur oorblywende personeel wie se werksomgewing verander is deur hersturkturereing te vergelyk met oorblywende personeel wie se werksomgewings onveranderd gebly het. Longitudinale vraelysdata is ingesamel gedurende herstrukturering. Oorblywendes wie se werksomgewing verander het, het hoër vlakke van werkstres, minder gewensde gesindhede en meer gesondheidsprobleme getoon as die individue wie se situasie onveranderd gebly het

Working in the Same Sector, in the Same Organization and in the Same Occupation: Similarities and Differences Between Women and Men Physicians' Work Climate and Health Complaints

Due to the segregated labor market, gender differences in health are often confounded by factors such as sector or occupation. This study explored similarities and differences in work climate and health complaints among women and men working in the same sector, in the same organization, and in the same occupation. First, work climate and health complaints were compared between women and men. Second, relations between the work climate and health complaints were investigated in both genders. Questionnaire data were collected from 95 women and 105 men physicians who worked in the same acute care hospital in Sweden. The results showed no gender differences in the job, role, leadership, or organizational characteristics. However, women physicians reported less workgroup cohesiveness and cooperation and more mental and physical health complaints than men physicians. Workgroup cohesiveness and cooperation were related to less health complaints only for men physicians. This explorative study indicates similarities between women and men when the work situation is similar, but suggests that some of the differences that appear in the large structures of the gender-segregated labor market also seem to be present for women and men who work in the same sector, in the same organization, and in the same occupation

A meta-analysis of job insecurity and employee performance: testing temporal aspects, rating source, welfare regime, and union density as moderators

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