The Effect of Job Insecurity on the Well-Being of Employees The Relationship between Job Insecurity, Burnout, and Work Engagement and the Moderating Role of Age and Openness to Experience Esmée Nellestijn

Abstract

Job insecurity increased the past few decades according to the increased number of temporary contracts. It is of importance to prevent or compensate against job insecurity given the negative consequences for both the person and the organization. This cross-sectional study examined whether both age and openness to experience moderated the relationship between job insecurity, burnout and work engagement. Data were collected among 239 working adults in the Netherlands with an employment contract of at least 24 hours per week. Results were analysed using a multiple regression analysis and a Process moderation analysis. The findings indicated that quantitative job insecurity was positively related to burnout, and negatively related to work engagement. In addition, qualitative job insecurity related negatively to work engagement. Furthermore, openness to experience moderated the relationship between qualitative job insecurity and work engagement, in the sense that this negative relationship was weaker among employees with high scores of openness to experience. Contrary to these findings, no effect was found for the moderating role of age. Future research should incorporate multiple individual differences that may affect the relationship between job insecurity and the well-being of employees.