1. Job Insecurity Part 2: Consequences & Moderators Magnus Sverke Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology Department of Psychology, Stockholm University magnus.sverke@psychology.su.se

2. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 2 Content 1.History 2.Why is job insecurity a problem? 3.Definitions and measurements 4.Prevalence: Are workers insecure? 5.Antecedents: What ‘causes’ insecurity? 6.Consequences for individuals, organisations and society? 7.What to do? Interventions and moderators 8.What to analyse in the future?

3. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 3 A Model Consequences Job insecurity perceptions ”Objective” work situation Individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, personality, employability) Organizational and social factors (e.g., social support, information, turbulence)

4. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 4 6. Consequences Type of consequence? Psychological, Somatic, Behavioral (e.g., Jex & Beehr, 1991; Spector, 2000) For whom? Individual, Organization, Union, Family (e.g., Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987; Sverke et al., 2004; Westman et al., 2001) When does it occur? Short-term vs. Long-term (e.g., Spector, 2000; Katz & Kahn, 1978; Zapf, Dormann & Frese, 1996)

5. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 5 Individual Organizational Immediate Long-term Job satisfaction Job involvement Org. commitment Trust Physical health Mental health Performance Turnover A (Limited) Typology Sverke, Hellgren & Näswall, 2002 Focus of reaction

6. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 6 Meta-analysis Accumulate results from independent studies Aim: arrive at reliable (average) estimates of relationships in the population Highlight similarities and inconsistencies that are more difficult to find in narrative reviews Correction for Measurement reliability Sampling error

7. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 7 Meta-analysis results Sverke et al, 2002 Cheng & Chan, 2008 Job satisfaction-.40-.43 Job involvement-.38-.20 Org commitment-.36-.35 Trust-.51-.49 Performance(-.17)-.21 Turnover intention.30.32 Physical health-.16-.23 Mental health-.24-.28

8. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 8 a.Consequences for individual health and well-being Mental and physical health (De Witte, 1999) Anxiety & depression (Orpen, 1993) Burnout (Dekker & Schaufeli, 1995) Life dissatisfaction (Lim, 1996) High blood pressure (Burchell, 1994) Use of medical services (Roskies & Louis-Guerin, 1990) Occurrence of ischaemic heart disease (Siegrist et al., 1990)

9. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 9 b. Consequences for organisations Job satisfaction (Ashford et al., 1989) Job involvement (Kuhnert & Palmer, 1991) Organizational commitment (Armstron-Stassen, 1993) Trust in management (Borg & Elizur, 1992) Turnover intention (Hellgren et al., 1999) Performance (Rosenblatt et al., 1999) Safety behavior (Probst & Brubaker, 2001) Absenteeism, tardiness (Probst, 1999)

10. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 10 c. Consequences for unions Job insecurity is a strong motive for joining unions Psychological contract with the union Unions protect employment security If the union fails at protecting job security, members can hold the union responsible Breach of a psychological contract with the union Members respond with impaired union attitudes Mellor, 1992; Sverke et al., 2004; De Witte et al., 2008

11. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 11 Negative Reduced union loyalty and increased willingness to resign from union membership (Sverke & Goslinga, 2003) Reduction in perceived union support (De Witte et al, 2008) Tendency to blame the union (Mellor, 1992) Low perceptions of possibilities to influence the situation via the union (Petersson & Isaksson, 2002) Positive Increase in intention to become a member among non- members (De Witte, 2000) Increase in union membership (Bender & Sloane, 1999) Higher willingness to participate in actions – but only when related to the goal of ‘reducing insecurity’ (van Vuuren, 1990) Consequences for unions

12. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 12 d. Consequences for life outside work Work–family conflict (Kinnunen & Mauno, 1998; Voydanoff, 2004) Crossover to partner (Westman et al., 2001) Marital dysfunctioning (Barling & McEwen, 1992) Effects on children’s work beliefs and attitudes (Barling et al., 1998) and school performance (Barling & Mendelson, 1999)

13. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 13 Problems of inferring causality Cross-sectional designs No temporal difference No control for prior levels Mono-method bias Inflated correlations? Third variable problem Spurious effects?

14. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 14 The Causality Problem Job Insecurity Time 1 Well-being Time 1 Well-being Time 2 Job Insecurity Time 2

15. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 15 Causal mechanisms: Some evidence Job insecurity related to strain and dissatisfaction even after other work stressors were controlled for (De Witte,1999; De Witte et al., in press) Job insecurity predicts “outcomes” after controlling for initial levels (Hellgren, Sverke, & Isaksson, 1999) Job insecurity affects well-being negatively over time – chronic stressor (Garst, Frese, & Molenaar, 2000) Cross-lagged analyses show that job insecurity predicts subsequent mental health complaints rather than vice versa – support for the direction of causality (Hellgren & Sverke, 2003)

16. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 16 -.11 ns -.26 -.07 ns -.16.05 ns.16.02 ns -.11 ns.01 ns.00 ns -.12 -.08 ns -.16.18 -.01 ns.04 ns.78.62.49.07 ns.28.15.30.63.35.50.89.95.92.28.63.24.69.25.34 2 31 Job Insecurity T1.36.54.24 132 Physical Health Compl T1 231.04 ns Mental Health Compl T1 2 3 1 Job Insecurity T2 1 3 2 Physical Health Compl T2.45.50.27 2 3 1 Mental Health Compl T2.29.35.45.35.32.45.74.38 Org tenure Family status (married) Age Education (university) Gender (man).01 ns Hellgren & Sverke, 2003

17. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 17 Quantitative Insecurity Quantitative Insecurity Qualitative Insecurity Qualitative Insecurity Absenteeism Presenteeism.08.09 Not shown: Factor correlations within time; effects of control variables Age, Gender, Tenure, Full-time, Temp, Somatic complaints Sverke et al., APA/NIOSH, 2008

18. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 18 7. How to reduce the negative consequences of job insecurity? Moderators Interventions (are there any?) Clearly another ‘missing issue’ in research…

19. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 19 Consequences Job insecurity perceptions ”Objective” work situation Individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender, personality, employability) Organizational and social factors (e.g., social support, information, turbulence) Why not show a nice picture many times?

20. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 20 What can the individual do? Emotion focus Problem focus Social support

21. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 21 Potential moderators Job insecurity Conse- quences Family situation Education / status Dispositions & coping Social support Justice & participation Union membership

22. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 22 Locus of control, attribution, need for security, affectivity, etc Negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and locus of control were tested as moderators of job insecurity – strain relation. Only external locus of control was associated with higher level of mental health complaints (Näswall, Sverke, & Hellgren, 2005a) a. Individual Differences Perspective

23. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 23 Employment contract, gender, family status, breadwinner, occupational status, education “Consequences” of job insecurity more negative for permanent than temporary workers (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2006; De Witte & Näswall, 2003) More negative efffects among blue-collar workers (Sverke et al., 2002) b. Demographic Perspective

24. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 24 Employability, control, coping Control mitigated the negative effects of job insecurity (Barling & Kelloway, 1996) c. Resource Perspective

25. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 25 Justice Information Participation Commitment to change d. Fairness Perspective Sverke et al., 2008

26. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 26 Nonwork-based (family, friendss Lower levels of family-based social support were associated with more negative reactions to job insecurity (mental and somatic health complaints) (Näswall et al., 2005b) Work-based (organization, coworkers, union) Union support only occasionally buffered the negative effects of job insecurity on individual and organizational consequences (Sverke et al., 2004) e. Social Support Perspective

27. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 27 One example of a model Objective situation  Labor market characteristics  Organizational change  Employment contract  Uncertain future for the organization Subjective characteristics  Perceived employability  Perceived control  Family responsibility  Need for security Job insecurity  Threats of job loss  Threats to job features Consequences  Well-being  Job attitudes  Organizational attitudes  Behavior Moderators  Individual differences  Fair treatment  Social support Sverke & Hellgren, 2002

28. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 28 Brief Summary Job insecurity has a wide variety of potential consequences Some support for effects over time Personality not very important in explaining reactions to job insecurity Alleviating factors, such as social support and possibilities to increase employability, should be available to employees Job insecurity is a work environment problem – and, hence, an issue of managerial responsibility

29. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 29 Task Design the basic characteristics of an intervention to reduce the negative effects of job insecurity

30. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 30 8. Further research ‘We need more research on this topic’

31. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 31 Impact of different measures of job insecurity (e.g.: objective-subjective; cognitive-affective; quantitative-qualitative; short-long term, … ) Impact of job insecurity on ‘forgotten’ outcomes: consequences for families (partner, children,…) consequences for companies: performance, absenteeism union attitudes and participation consequences for society (attitudes, political,…) a. Broaden our focus

32. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 32 generalise previous findings? compare prevalence levels of insecurity: JI due to the ‘objective situation’? explore country specific characteristics as e.g. antecedents (e.g. multi-level analysis) check whether countries moderate the relationship insecurity – outcomes (social protection) b. Cross-national comparisons

33. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 33 Elaborate and test theoretical explanations regarding: Antecedents Consequences Relative impact of job insecurity compared to other work- related stressors and life outside work Impact of moderators: On antecedents of JI On consequences of JI Who suffers more from job insecurity? Longitudinal analyses: causation? c. Gain more in-depth knowledge

34. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 34 Development of stress reactions? Stress reaction model Accumulation model Dynamic Accumulation model Adjustment model Sleeper effect model reaction stressor Frese & Zapf, 1988 Zapf, Dormann & Frese, 1996

35. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 35 Develop ways to reduce job insecurity and to cope with it Develop and test interventions (e.g. communication, participation,…) Will workers adjust to “constant turmoil”? Can insecurity at all be avoided? d. Prevention and Intervention

36. AO psykologi Magnus Sverkemagnus.sverke@psychology.su.se 36 Read more? Sverke, M., Hellgren, J., Näswall, K., Chirumbolo, A., De Witte, H., & Goslinga, S. (2004). Job insecurity and union membership: European unions in the wake of flexible production. Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang. Sverke, M. (2003). Uncertain employment relations and union membership in Europe. Special issue of Economic and Industrial Democracy (Vol. 24, Issue 2, 2003). Sverke, M., Hellgren, J., & Näswall, K. (2002). No security: A meta- analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 242–264. Sverke, M. & Hellgren, J. (2002). The nature of job insecurity: Understanding employment uncertainty on the brink of a new Millennium. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 51, 23-42.

37. Magnus Sverke www.psychology.su.se mse@psychology.su.se