The Effect of Shared Job Insecurity Perceptions on Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect Behaviours

The 32nd International Congress of Psychology Prague, 2021, Praha, Czech Republic, 18 - 23 July 2021, (Unpublished)

Publication Type: Conference Paper / Unpublished
City: Praha
Country: Czech Republic
Eskisehir Osmangazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Job insecurity represents a source of worry and stress for many employees, and the detrimental effects of job insecurity on various outcomes have been shown by numerous studies (including meta-analyses). Traditionally, job insecurity has been considered as an individual-level phenomenon; however, recent findings provide evidence for the existence of a “shared concern about the continued existence of the job in an organization” (i.e., job insecurity climate). The limited number of studies focusing on the job insecurity climate construct provide insights about the construct distinctiveness between individual job insecurity and job insecurity climate, and indicate that job insecurity climate may have negative effects on work-related (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment) and health-related outcomes (e.g., higher levels of work-family conflict and psychological distress). This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the role of job insecurity climate for employees’ exit, voice, neglect, and loyalty behaviours, also by testing the predictive ability beyond individual job insecurity perceptions. The sample was composed of 245 employees in Turkey (51% women, Mage = 34, age range: 19-59). Multiple regression analysis results indicated that quantitative job insecurity climate (i.e., the perception of a shared concern about the continued existence of the job itself) predicted higher levels of exit, aggressive voice, loyalty, and neglect. Qualitative job insecurity climate (i.e., the perception of a shared concern about the continued existence of valued job features) predicted higher levels of exit and aggressive voice, and lower levels of loyalty. The results also provide evidence for the incremental validity of job insecurity climate perceptions above and beyond individual job insecurity in explaining employees’ exit, aggressive voice, and loyalty behaviours.