engleski

How can we attenuate job insecurity? Examining the effects of psychological climate

This study probes the effects of psychological climate as environmental resource on job insecurity via occupational self-efficacy. Psychological climate was conceptualized as molar construct comprising three higher-order latent factors: job challenge and variety, role stress and lack of harmony and coworkers’ cooperation. Uniting the Conservation of Resources Theory and psychological climate model, we propose that resourceful work environment will reduce perceived threat of involuntary job loss (i.e., job insecurity) due to its positive effects on employees’ beliefs in his/her abilities to successfully master job-related challenges (i.e., occupational self-efficacy). The hypotheses were tested among 2195 white-collar employees (from 31 Croatian organizations) working full-time and minimally six months in the current organization. Participants completed on-line questionnaire two times with a time lag of six months. The hypotheses were tested cross sectionally and longitudinally via (cross lagged) structural equation modeling. The cross-sectional results revealed the negative effects of job and coworkers’ characteristics in addition to the positive effect of role characteristics on job insecurity. However, occupational self-efficacy mediated only the effect of job challenge and variety. The longitudinal results will be additionally presented. The study comprises two waves which do not allow the strict test of mediational effects. The convenient sample of organizations and employees limits the generalizability of findings. The findings indicate elements of work environment that may reduce job insecurity as well as the underlying mechanism of these effects. By investigating thus far understudied, theoretically grounded basic elements of work environment, this study contributes to the knowledge on strategies to reduce job insecurity.

job insecurity, psychological climate, occupational self-efficacy, white-collars

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