engleski

Why is job insecurity climate detrimental for employees and organizations? A multilevel analysis of its indirect effects on job-related emotions and behaviour of young scientists

Job insecurity, i.e. employees’ worries about the future continuance of their jobs, has only recently been recognized as a social phenomenon – conceptualized and measured as the job insecurity climate (JIC). In this regard, research showed that JIC represents an important social stressor: working in an environment characterized by shared perceptions of threat of job loss relates to impaired individual and organizational well-being. However, much less is known about the mechanisms through which JIC affects employees and organizations. To address this research gap, the present study investigated the mediators of JIC’s effects on job-related emotions and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB), outcomes that have not been yet assessed as consequences of JIC. Accordingly, the focal question was whether shared perceptions of psychological contract breach (PCB) and powerlessness could account for the negative effects of JIC. The sample comprised of 377 research/teaching assistants and postdoctoral researchers clustered within 154 work departments in higher education institutions and research institutes. Participants represented diverse research fields and all were employed on temporary contracts. Study variables – JIC, PCB, powerlessness, job- related emotions and CWB – were assessed via on-line survey by internationally validated self-report measures, which were back- translated and had sound psychometric properties. The results based on the Multi- Level Structural Equation Modeling (ML-SEM) supported the mediating role of PCB and powerlessness in the relationship between JIC and employees’ emotions and behaviour: both mechanisms explained the positive effects of JIC on negative emotions and CWB as well as the negative effects on positive emotions at work. Getting a more thorough insight on why working in a context characterized by job insecurity negatively affects employees and organizations represents a fruitful avenue for creating beneficial psychosocial work environments.

job insecurity climate; psychological contract breach; powerlessness; job-related emotions; counterproductive work behavior; Multi-Level Structural Equation Modeling (ML-SEM)

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