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Journal of Business and Psychology
Published in: Journal of Business and Psychology 1/2010

01-03-2010

Objective Threat of Unemployment and Situational Uncertainty During a Restructuring: Associations with Perceived Job Insecurity and Strain

Authors: Nele De Cuyper, Hans De Witte, Tinne Vander Elst, Yasmin Handaja

Published in: Journal of Business and Psychology | Issue 1/2010

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates objective threat of unemployment and situational uncertainty following restructuring in relation to perceived job insecurity and associated strain.

Design/Methodology

We sampled workers (N = 122) from a Belgian service organization that had recently announced its intention to downsize. Objective threat of unemployment was present in workers who were informed about dismissal. Situational uncertainty was high among workers for whom the decision about dismissal was pending. There was a low objective threat of unemployment and low situational uncertainty in workers who were informed that their jobs were safe. Analyses were done with Structural Equation Modelling.

Findings

Objective threat of unemployment associated positively with perceived job insecurity. Perceived job insecurity, in turn, associated positively with strain, and it carried the relationship between objective threat of unemployment and strain (mediation). Surprisingly, we also established a direct and negative association between objective threat of unemployment and strain. Finally, no significant associations were found between situational uncertainty and perceived job insecurity, and between situational uncertainty and strain.

Implications

This study contributes to the conceptual debate as to which factors are critical in the development of perceptions of job insecurity and associated strain in the context of restructurings.
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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Note that we ran similar analyses in which emotional exhaustion and vigour were kept separate. Results were comparable to those reported for models in which emotional exhaustion and vigour loaded on a general strain factor: First, Model 2 (χ2 (1, N = 122) = 2.89, p = .09, GFI = .99, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .12) fitted the data better than Model 1 χ2 (5, N = 122) = 18.27, p = .003, GFI = .95, CFI = .87, RMSEA = .15). Second, the path coefficients were virtually the same: Objective threat of unemployment related positively to perceived job insecurity (β = .45, p < .001), negatively to emotional exhaustion (β = −.36, p < .001), and positively to vigour (β = .25, p < .05). The paths from situational uncertainty to perceived job insecurity (β = .03), emotional exhaustion (β = −.16) and vigour (β = .01) were not significant. Perceived job insecurity related positively to emotional exhaustion (β = .31, p < .001), and negatively to vigour (β = −.28, p < .01).
 
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Metadata
Title
Objective Threat of Unemployment and Situational Uncertainty During a Restructuring: Associations with Perceived Job Insecurity and Strain
Authors
Nele De Cuyper
Hans De Witte
Tinne Vander Elst
Yasmin Handaja
Publication date
01-03-2010
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Business and Psychology / Issue 1/2010
Print ISSN: 0889-3268
Electronic ISSN: 1573-353X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9128-y

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