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Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 26966

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Chirumbolo

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: job insecurity; work stress; personality; prejudice; risk behaviors and new technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Antonino Callea

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Human Sciences, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy
Interests: temporary employment; job insecurity; extra-role performance; test validation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Flavio Urbini

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Human Sciences, LUMSA University, 00193 Rome, Italy
Interests: job insecurity; organizational citizenship behaviors; job satisfaction; teamwork
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Contemporary society is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty pervading many aspects of everyday life. The recent global recession has further exacerbated these feelings of uncertainty worldwide. Individuals with precarious employment and insecure jobs are particularly more likely to suffer from this situation, especially those with lower skills and education. A vast body of literature has highlighted that being precarious or perceiving one's own job as at risk have detrimental outcomes on well-being of both individuals and organizations. Precarious employment is often associated with job dissatisfaction and poor health. Similarly, workers with higher levels of subjective job insecurity have poorer mental and physical health: for instance, they tend to report higher levels of distress, burnout, sadness, depression, anxiety, life dissatisfaction, negative emotions, and display more somatic complaints. Likewise, subjective job insecurity also has a negative impact on job attitudes and organizational behavior. Workers with higher subjective job insecurity have less job satisfaction, less work engagement, less organizational commitment and identification, and a worse job performance both in-role and extra-role (e.g., less organizational citizenship behavior, more counterproductive work behavior). Job-insecure and precarious employees are more likely to be victims of workplace bullying and discrimination and suffer from more economic inequality. From this perspective, subjective job insecurity and precarious employment are becoming increasingly important psychosocial risk factors in contemporary societies. Papers addressing these and other related topics are invited for this Special Issue, especially those with a high academic standard combining theoretical and practical implications providing solutions for policy makers, individuals, and organizations focused on coping with the consequences of jobs at risk and precarious employment. 

Dr. Antonio Chirumbolo
Prof. Dr. Antonino Callea
Dr. Flavio Urbini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • job insecurity
  • precarious employment
  • psycho-social risk
  • mental health
  • physical health
  • stress
  • job attitudes
  • organizational behavior
  • workplace discrimination

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 915 KiB  
Article
Living in Liquid Times: The Relationships among Job Insecurity, Life Uncertainty, and Psychosocial Well-Being
by Antonio Chirumbolo, Antonino Callea and Flavio Urbini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15225; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192215225 - 18 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1600
Abstract
Stress research has widely documented how uncertainty represents a strong stressor that, in general, is negatively associated with well-being. While the literature on job insecurity about this topic is extensive and exhaustive, empirical research on the outcomes of life uncertainty, namely the perception [...] Read more.
Stress research has widely documented how uncertainty represents a strong stressor that, in general, is negatively associated with well-being. While the literature on job insecurity about this topic is extensive and exhaustive, empirical research on the outcomes of life uncertainty, namely the perception and feeling of precariousness regarding the present and future of one’s own life, is yet to be fully explored. In the present paper, we aimed to investigate the relationships among job insecurity, life uncertainty, and psychosocial well-being outcomes, specifically, with a focus on job satisfaction and burnout. The participants were 357 workers (M = 146 and F = 211), with an average age of 41.78 y.o. (SD = 13.49), who completed an online questionnaire containing, in addition to sociodemographics information, measures of the study variables, namely job insecurity, life uncertainty, job satisfaction, and burnout. The results pointed out negative relationships of both job insecurity and life uncertainty with individual well-being, as they were negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively related to burnout. In a path analysis with latent variables, life uncertainty proved to fully mediate the relationship between job insecurity and psychosocial well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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20 pages, 953 KiB  
Article
Integrated Patterns of Subjective Job Insecurity: A Multigroup Person-Centered Study
by Valerio Ghezzi, Valeria Ciampa, Tahira M. Probst, Laura Petitta, Ivan Marzocchi, Ilaria Olivo and Claudio Barbaranelli
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13306; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192013306 - 15 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1313
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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13 pages, 363 KiB  
Article
A Latent Profile Analysis of Precarity and Its Associated Outcomes: The Haves and the Have-Nots
by Andrea Bazzoli, Tahira M. Probst and Jasmina Tomas
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7582; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19137582 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1695
Abstract
A continuing debate on the nature of precarity surrounds its defining characteristics and identification of what constitutes precarity. While early sociological work argued that people either experience precarity or they do not (i.e., the haves and the have-nots), subsequent researchers have gone to [...] Read more.
A continuing debate on the nature of precarity surrounds its defining characteristics and identification of what constitutes precarity. While early sociological work argued that people either experience precarity or they do not (i.e., the haves and the have-nots), subsequent researchers have gone to great lengths to argue for a more nuanced approach with multiple distinct classes of precarity. Using cross-lagged data from n = 315 U.S. employees collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, we took a person-centered approach to address this central question and uncover latent subpopulations of precarity. Specifically, we conducted a latent profile analysis of precarity using various objective and subjective indicators including perceptions of job insecurity, financial insecurity, prior unemployment experiences, per capita household income, skill-based underemployment, and time-based underemployment. While we anticipated different profiles based on income- vs. employment-based sources of precarity, the best-fitting solution surprisingly comported with Standing’s proposed two-class model. Moreover, membership in the precarious profile was associated with consistently more adverse subsequent outcomes across work, health, and life domains adding to the validity of the obtained two-profile structure. We discuss these results in light of potential loss spirals that can co-occur with the experience of precarity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
13 pages, 597 KiB  
Article
Job Insecurity and Employees’ Taking Charge Behaviors: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model
by Fang Sun, Anqi Zheng and Junbang Lan
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(2), 696; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19020696 - 08 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2179
Abstract
Given the rapid changes in current technologies, business models, and work environments, organizations and managers increasingly rely on their employees’ proactive behaviors, such as taking charge, to gain competitive advantages. Taking charge involves a range of risky and future-oriented behaviors, and it requires [...] Read more.
Given the rapid changes in current technologies, business models, and work environments, organizations and managers increasingly rely on their employees’ proactive behaviors, such as taking charge, to gain competitive advantages. Taking charge involves a range of risky and future-oriented behaviors, and it requires employees to work hard to achieve them in the future. For employees with high job-insecurity, their job continuity in the future is threatened. Thus, they may not be willing to take risks to do additional work that is “future-oriented”. To our knowledge, the effect of job insecurity on employees’ taking charge has rarely been studied. As a result, the purpose of our study is to investigate whether, how, and when job insecurity will influence taking charge. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory and proactive motivation model, we develop a theoretical model. Moreover, we employed a multi-wave and multi-source survey to test our predictions. Based on the data from 194 full-time employees paired with their direct supervisors, the results provided consistent support for the proposed hypotheses. Specifically, the results indicate that job insecurity prohibits employees’ taking charge behaviors through deteriorating their work engagement. Furthermore, employees’ perception of interactional justice moderates the negative influence of job insecurity on their work engagement and, consequently, their taking charge behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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15 pages, 677 KiB  
Article
Precarious Job Makes Me Withdraw? The Role of Job Insecurity and Negative Affect
by Shanting Zheng, Tangli Ding, Hao Chen, Yunhong Wu and Wenjing Cai
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(24), 12999; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph182412999 - 09 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2067
Abstract
An expanding “gig” economy has changed the nature of employment; thus, researchers have recently focused on exploring the role of job precariousness in the workplace. However, little research attention has been given to understanding why, how and when job precariousness leads to employees’ [...] Read more.
An expanding “gig” economy has changed the nature of employment; thus, researchers have recently focused on exploring the role of job precariousness in the workplace. However, little research attention has been given to understanding why, how and when job precariousness leads to employees’ negative behavioral outcomes in the service-oriented industry. In the current study, we examined job insecurity as a mediator and employees’ negative affect as a moderator in the relationship between job precariousness and employees’ withdrawal behavior. Using a sample of 472 employees working in Chinese hotels, we found that job precariousness is positively related to employees’ withdrawal behavior by increasing their job insecurity. Moreover, this mediating relationship is conditional on the moderator variable of employees’ negative affect for the path from job insecurity to withdrawal behavior. The importance of these findings for understanding the undesirable behavior outcomes of job precariousness is discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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16 pages, 524 KiB  
Article
Temporary Agency Work and Well-Being—The Mediating Role of Job Insecurity
by Birgit Thomson and Lena Hünefeld
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(21), 11154; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph182111154 - 23 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2537
Abstract
Organisations use non-standard employment as a means of flexibility and reduction of fixed costs. An increasingly growing group of employees are self-employed, have work contracts such as part-time and temporary contracts or are employed by a temporary agency, a development catalysed by the [...] Read more.
Organisations use non-standard employment as a means of flexibility and reduction of fixed costs. An increasingly growing group of employees are self-employed, have work contracts such as part-time and temporary contracts or are employed by a temporary agency, a development catalysed by the COVID pandemic. Whereas there is some evidence that temporary work might affect health via job insecurity (JI) there are hardly any studies focussing on the effects and mechanisms of temporary agency work (TAW). This study sheds light on TAW’s potential health impact and the role of JI in this respect using a mediation analysis. Based on the BIBB/BAuA-Employment Survey 2018 (N = 20.021, representative of the German working population), we analysed the direct effect of TAW on cognitive and psychosomatic aspects of well-being. In particular, we considered JI as mediator for this association. In line with the potentially detrimental effects of temporary employment on well-being, we found that TAW was related to unfavourable outcomes in terms of job satisfaction, general health status and musculoskeletal complaints. JI partially mediated all three underlying associations. Organisations need to be flexible and adaptable. However, by using temporary agency employment as a means to achieve this flexibility, managers and leaders should be aware that it is related to unfavourable well-being and hence hidden costs. In using this type of employment, both the temporary work agency and the user company should consider these health risks by providing health care, options for increasing the temporary agency workers (TA), workers employability, and equal treatment between permanent and TA workers at the actual workplace. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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15 pages, 514 KiB  
Article
Sometimes It’s Personal: Differential Outcomes of Person vs. Job at Risk Threats to Job Security
by Nicole Carusone, Rebecca Pittman and Mindy Shoss
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7379; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18147379 - 10 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2339
Abstract
The current paper expands an under-addressed concept within the job insecurity literature, namely, whether threats to job security are specific to the jobholder (person-at-risk threats) or specific to the job (job-at-risk threats). Using a between-person experimental vignette design, 136 employed participants were asked [...] Read more.
The current paper expands an under-addressed concept within the job insecurity literature, namely, whether threats to job security are specific to the jobholder (person-at-risk threats) or specific to the job (job-at-risk threats). Using a between-person experimental vignette design, 136 employed participants were asked to imagine themselves in either a Person-at-Risk or a Job-at-Risk scenario. As expected, participants in a person-at-risk scenario indicated more negative reactions to job insecurity, as captured by greater anticipated negative affect and poorer perceived social exchanges and organization-based self-esteem. They also reported reduced intention for interpersonal citizenship behavior and greater intention to engage in one form of impression management compared to individuals in a job-at-risk scenario. We interpret these findings in terms of their implications on individual versus group identity, as well as on well-being and the behavioral consequences of job insecurity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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18 pages, 578 KiB  
Article
The Temporary Agency Worker’s Motivation Profile Analysis
by Filipa Sobral, Maria José Chambel and Filipa Castanheira
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6779; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18136779 - 24 Jun 2021
Viewed by 2236
Abstract
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) establishes that human motivations can take different forms (e.g., amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation), yet it is only recently that the theory has been advanced to explain how these different forms combine to influence temporary agency workers’ (TAWs) affective [...] Read more.
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) establishes that human motivations can take different forms (e.g., amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation), yet it is only recently that the theory has been advanced to explain how these different forms combine to influence temporary agency workers’ (TAWs) affective commitment and their perception over the human resources practices (HRP) applied. We tested this theory with data from seven temporary agency companies (N = 3766). Through latent profile analysis (LPA) we identified five distinct motivation profiles and found that they differed in their affective commitment to the agency and to the client-company, and in their perception of HRP. We verified that temporary agency workers in more intrinsic profiles had more positive outcomes and a better perception of the investment made by the companies, than did TAWs in more extrinsic profiles. Additionally, when TAWs were able to integrate the reasons for being in this work arrangement, the negative effect of the extrinsic motivation was attenuated, and it was possible to find moderated profiles in which TAWs also showed more positive results than TAWs with only extrinsic motives. These differences are consistent with the notion that a motivation profile provides a context that determines how the individual components are experienced. Theoretical and practical implications of this context effect are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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28 pages, 2948 KiB  
Article
On the Reciprocal Relationship between Quantitative and Qualitative Job Insecurity and Outcomes. Testing a Cross-Lagged Longitudinal Mediation Model
by Sonia Nawrocka, Hans De Witte, Margherita Brondino and Margherita Pasini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6392; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18126392 - 12 Jun 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3287
Abstract
Prior cross-sectional research indicates that the negative effects of quantitative job insecurity (i.e., threat to job loss) on employees’ wellbeing are fully mediated by qualitative job insecurity (i.e., threat to job characteristics). In the current longitudinal study, we replicated and further extended this [...] Read more.
Prior cross-sectional research indicates that the negative effects of quantitative job insecurity (i.e., threat to job loss) on employees’ wellbeing are fully mediated by qualitative job insecurity (i.e., threat to job characteristics). In the current longitudinal study, we replicated and further extended this view to include a direct effect of qualitative job insecurity on quantitative job insecurity. We explored these reciprocal relations in the context of their concurrent effects on work related outcomes by means of dual-mediation modelling. We identified a wide range of the outcomes, classified as: job strains (i.e., exhaustion, emotional and cognitive impairment), psychological coping reactions (i.e., job satisfaction, work engagement, turnover intention), and behavioral coping reactions (i.e., in-role and extra role performance, counterproductive behavior). We employed a three-wave panel design and surveyed 2003 Flemish employees. The results showed that the dual-mediation model had the best fit to the data. However, whereas qualitative job insecurity predicted an increase in quantitative job insecurity and the outcome variables six months later, quantitative job insecurity did not affect qualitative job insecurity or the outcomes over time. The study demonstrates the importance of qualitative job insecurity not only as a severe work stressor but also as an antecedent of quantitative job insecurity. Herewith, we stress the need for further research on the causal relations between both dimensions of job insecurity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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20 pages, 749 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Job Insecurity and Life Uncertainty on Everyday Consumptions and Broader Life Projects during COVID-19 Pandemic
by Antonio Chirumbolo, Antonino Callea and Flavio Urbini
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(10), 5363; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18105363 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5554
Abstract
Contemporary society is characterized by a high level of uncertainty in many domains of everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a deep economic crisis, exacerbating worldwide feelings of uncertainty and precarity. Individuals with insecure jobs have (and will) probably suffered the most [...] Read more.
Contemporary society is characterized by a high level of uncertainty in many domains of everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a deep economic crisis, exacerbating worldwide feelings of uncertainty and precarity. Individuals with insecure jobs have (and will) probably suffered the most from this situation. Workers with higher job insecurity have poorer psychological and physical health, display more negative work attitudes and are less satisfied about their life. However, much less is known about the impact of job insecurity and life uncertainty on consumer behavior. Using the Conservation of Resources theory as a framework, the present study examines a model in which job insecurity and life uncertainty would have a negative effect on everyday consumptions and broader life projects of individuals. Data collection was conducted in Italy in June and July 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic, in the immediate aftermath of the national lockdown. In a sample of 830 workers, the results of a mediation analysis showed that job insecurity and life uncertainty had a detrimental impact of consumer behaviors, since they were significantly associated with higher propensity to sacrifice and reduce everyday short-term consumptions (e.g., buying food) and greater perceived unaffordability of broader long-term life projects (e.g., buying a house). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society)
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