Employee Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction and Organization-based Self-esteem:

Employee Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction

and Organization-based Self-esteem:

The Moderating Role of Perceived Employability

Evidence from Athens, Greece 2011

Master Thesis, MSc Human Resource Management

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Faculty of Economics and Business

August , 2011

ELENI ZAFEIRIOU

1

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the relationships between job insecurity, job satisfaction and organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), and the potential moderating role of perceived employability in these relationships. With regard to job insecurity, I hypothesized that it has a negative relationship with job satisfaction and OBSE. Moreover, it was assumed that perceived employability may moderate these relationships by making them more negative when it is low rather than high. Hypotheses were tested with a sample of 142 respondents employed in four different private organizations of the service sector, located in Athens, Greece. Results revealed that job insecurity was negatively and significantly related to job satisfaction and OBSE. Moreover, lower than higher perceived employability was found to strengthen this negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction, but perceived employability did not moderate the relationship between job insecurity and OBSE.

Keywords: Job insecurity, Job satisfaction, Organization-based self-esteem, Perceived

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION... 3

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES ... 4

2.1 Job Insecurity ... 4

2.2 Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction and Organization-Based Self-Esteem .... 6

2.3 Perceived Employability and its moderating effect……….…....8

3. RESEARCH METHODS………...10

3.1 Sample and Procedure………...10

3.2 Measures………11 3.3 Data Analysis……….12 4. RESULTS………...12 4.1 Correlation Analysis ….………12 4.2 Hypotheses testing……….……….….….…...14 4.3 Supplementary Analyses……….………...18 5. DISCUSSION…………....19 5.1 Findings………...19 5.2 Theoretical Implication……….…….20 5.3 Practical Implication.……….………….21

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research……….……..22

REFERENCES……….………...23

3

1. INTRODUCTION

The concept of job insecurity was first examined in U.S. and although it was present as a managerial problem during the 1950s and 1960s it was not of great importance (Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 2010). Since the 1980s, globalization, international competition, technological evolution and the transition to a service industry, provoked great changes in the nature of work (Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984; Laszlo, et al., 2010; Sverke & Hellgren, 2002). Organizations in order to reduce costs and increase their competitiveness and effectiveness had to apply organizational changes such as downsizing, mergers, acquisitions and the introduction of temporary employment (Cheng & Chan, 2008; Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984; Laszlo, et al., 2010; Probst & Brubaker, 2001; Silla, Gracia, F., Manas, M.A. & Peiro, J.M., 2010; Sverke & Hellgren, 2002; Sverke, Hellgren & Naswall, 2002). As a result, the abovementioned changes increased employees’ concerns for losing some aspects of their job or the job itself (Cheng & Chan, 2008; Sverke & Hellgren, 2002). The global phenomenon of job insecurity has nowadays become of great importance and this is the reason that it is to be addressed and examined by researchers.

In this research paper, I will examine how individually perceived job insecurity influences employees’ job satisfaction and organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), moderated by the variable of perceived employability. According to Sverke, Hellgren and Naswall (2002), the consequences of job insecurity are categorised into individual, organizational, immediate and long-term reactions of employees. Job satisfaction is presented as an immediate individual reaction. As Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984: 438) mention, ‘workers react to job insecurity and their reactions have consequences for organizational effectiveness’. More specifically, concerning job satisfaction, research indicates that it is correlated to employees’ performance (Linz, 2003). Taking into account the above findings, the great interest of researchers about the relationship between job insecurity and employees’ job satisfaction is rational (Sverke & Hellgren, 2002). In this study I try to extend this research within the context of the Greek organizational environment.

Recently, there is a growing research interest on organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) (Pierce, Gardner, Gummings & Dunham, 1989). OBSE is only one of the aspects of the esteem construct. Self-esteem concerns the individuals’ self-evaluation of what they believe for themselves, while OBSE restricts this concept into the organizational context (Pierce & Gardner, 2010). Most studies have reported OBSE to be positively related to some important organizational outcomes such as job performance, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour1 (Lee, 2003). Job insecurity and OBSE’s relationship has been examined in only a few studies, so in this study I will extend this speculation by examining if in Greek organizations job insecurity influences employees’ OBSE.

1

4 Another relatively new construct in the empirical literature, employability (i.e. the ability to find a new job), is identified as a tool that helps to face job insecurity. Research results support that job insecurity and its detrimental outcomes may be moderated by the variable of employability. In an unstable work environment, employability is crucial for every individual, even if he is currently employed or not (Wittekind, Raeder, & Grote, 2010). I will examine this variable in the Greek context in its subjective approach, namely perceived employability, as has been examined in several studies (Berntson & Marklund, 2007; Berntson, Sverke & Marklund, 2006; Rothwell & Arnold, 2007; Wittekind, et al., 2010).

Along the above lines, there is a considerable amount of research on job insecurity and its outcomes in Europe and worldwide. To my knowledge, such kind of research is extremely limited for the Greek organizational environment, which nowadays has occupied the international interest for its dramatic economic downturn. 2010 found the Greek economy being at the most difficult point of its history, as it stood at the second place of government debt among the EU countries. Greece of 2011 was predicted to be and finally is characterized by high unemployment, low competitiveness, as well as political and economic corruption (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010; Iscaro, 2010). Based on these conditions, Greek employees perceive intense feelings of job insecurity, as retrieved from a qualitative survey conducted by VPRC2 (Argolampou, 2009). This research will try to extend our knowledge on the topic of job insecurity within the Greek organizations.

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

2.1 Job Insecurity

There are numerous definitions which describe the concept of job insecurity. Sverke, Hellgren and Naswall (2002: 243) define job insecurity as a ‘subjectively experienced

anticipation of a fundamental and involuntary event’. Another interesting definition

refers to job insecurity as ‘a discrepancy between the levels of security people

experience and the level they might prefer’ (Hartley, Jacobson, Klandermans & Van

Vuuren, 1991 in Buitendach & De Witte, 2005). Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984: 438), who were among the first researchers to examine this managerial problem and the first to define it, refer to job insecurity as ‘perceived powerlessness to maintain

desired continuity in a threatened job situation’. It is interesting to note that in

opposition with the previous definitions which perceive job insecurity as unidimensional, this one is the first multi-dimensional, composed of four elements, namely, ‘desired continuity, threat, job features at risk, and powerlessness’ (Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984). As most researches, the present study will adopt

2 _{VPRC, V-Project Research Consulting is one of the most important companies of researches and}

5 the unidimensional definition of De Witte (2005: 1) which refers to job insecurity as

‘the perceived threat of job loss and the worries related to that threat’. This global

view supports the subjective nature of job insecurity, agreeing with other researchers that the employee has overall concerns for the continuity of his/her current job in the future (see e.g. Davy, et al., 1997; Heaney, Israel & House, 1994; Sverke & Hellgren, 2002; Sverke, Hellgren & Naswall, 2002).

Types of Job Insecurity

Sverke and Hellgren (2002) presented the results of several studies on job insecurity. Findings lead to the categorization of job insecurity in the following types: cognitive

job insecurity (the possibility of losing the job), affective job insecurity (the fear of

losing the job), quantitative job insecurity (employees’ concern of total job loss), and

qualitative job insecurity (employees’ concern of losing some aspects of the job). Consequences of Job Insecurity

Sverke, Hellgren and Naswall (2002) through the meta-analysis that they conducted, gathered some possible types of consequences of job insecurity as depicted in the following table:

Table 1 Types of consequences of Job Insecurity (Sverke, et al., 2002: 244)

Individual Organizational

Job attitudes Organizational attitudes

Immediate Job satisfaction Organizational commitment Job involvement Trust

Health Work related behaviour

Long-term Physical health Performance Mental health Turnover intention

Organizational changes provoke employees’ reactions, which concern attitudes related to the organization or long-term consequences which may influence the successful maintenance of the organization in the future (Sverke, et al., 2002). Research findings support that job insecurity is directly related to uncertainty, unpredictability and employees’ negative attitudes (e.g. low job satisfaction, low organizational commitment and high turnover intention) (Silla, Gracia, Manas & Peiro, 2010).

6 leave or mortality (Ashford, et al., 1989; Ferrie, 2001; Ferrie, Shipley, Stansfeld & Marmot, 2002; Laszlo, et al., 2010). To my knowledge, the only research on job insecurity conducted for Greek organizations revealed that job insecurity was significantly important and negatively related to self-estimated health. Moreover, it presented that gender and age were not significantly important moderators to the abovementioned relationship (Laszlo, et al., 2010).

2.2 Job Insecurity, Job Satisfaction and Organization-Based Self-Esteem Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction has attracted much of researchers’ attention because it is valued as one of the most important factors to explain employees’ performance, commitment to the company, retention and turnover as well as motivation (Malliarou, et al., 2010). Job satisfaction is thoroughly examined and found to be positively related to life satisfaction, employees’ performance and their attachment to the organization (Buitendach & De Witte, 2005). It is defined by Locke (1976, in Reisel, et al., 2010) as ‘an emotional state resulting from the evaluation or appraisal of one’s job

experiences’. Traditionally, the variable of job satisfaction encompasses all the

individual emotions related to the job. Additionally to the nature of job, it is also important to consider employees’ personal perception of the job in order to evaluate if a job is satisfying or not (Malliarou, et al., 2010). For this reason, job satisfaction is perceived as every employee’s distinct evaluation of his/her job based on his/her own values, needs and expectations (Buitendach & De Witte, 2005). If his/her values, needs and expectations are met in the workplace, employee’s job satisfaction and commitment to the organization increase, while levels of turnover intention decrease (Malliarou, et al., 2010).

7 emotional reaction to the events experienced in the organizational environment (Reisel, et al., 2010; Ashford, Lee & Bobko, 1989). A job may offer several aspects of job satisfaction through, for example, economic stability or self-esteem (Reisel, et al., 2010). Job insecurity reflects employees’ perceptions of several negative events and consequently may negatively influence their job satisfaction (Ashford, et al., 1989). Since there is a research gap for this issue for the Greek organizations, I will examine this relationship as presented below in the first Hypothesis:

- Hypothesis 1: There is a negative relationship between job insecurity and job

satisfaction.

Job insecurity is found to be negatively related to several job as well as life aspects. Job satisfaction is influenced by the level of job insecurity and additionally job satisfaction is directly related to life satisfaction (De Witte, 2005). As job satisfaction is linked to employees’ emotions, it influences their lives in total (Buitendach & De Witte, 2005).

Organization-Based Self-Esteem

According to Korman (1976: 51) ‘one’s self-esteem is the extent to which one sees the

self as a competent, need-satisfying individual’. Self-esteem is a self-evaluation which

describes what a person thinks for him/herself as an individual and is one of the most significant predictors of individuals’ motivation, behaviours and attitudes (Korman, 1976). Individuals with high levels of self-esteem approve (Lee & Peccei, 2006) and like themselves (Pierce & Gardner, 2004), develop favourable attitudes and behave in such a way in order to maintain the high level of their self-esteem (Pierce, et al., 1989). The construct of self-esteem is recognised in many studies as hierarchical and multidimensional. There are three major dimensions recognised, namely global self-esteem evaluation of the individual as a whole), specific self-self-esteem (self-evaluation of a specific role), and task-specific (self-evaluation (self-(self-evaluation of the bahaviour in a specific situation) (Pierce, et al., 1989).

Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) was first recognized and defined by Pierce et al. (1989: 625) as ‘the degree to which organizational members believe that they can

satisfy their needs by participating in roles within the context of an organization’.

This type of self-evaluation contributes to the individuals’ conclusion whether they are valued, important, capable and trusted within the organizational environment to which they belong or not (Pierce & Gardner, 2004). Individuals with high OBSE feel that they count in their workplace and that they have satisfied their needs through their roles as organizational members (Korman, 1976).

8 more reactive, as they may be more easily influenced by external information. The consequences of such interactions may lead employees with high OBSE to report more highly motivated and those with low OBSE less motivated and less committed. Finally, the research revealed that OBSE can contribute to decrease organizational uncertainty (Hui & Lee, 2000). The study of Lee and Peccei (2006) mainly focused on the mediating role of OBSE but is one of the few researches that examined OBSE as a dependent variable as well. At this part of the research job insecurity was examined as a moderator of the relationships between Perceived Organizational Support (POS)3 and OBSE as well as POS and Affective Commitment (AC)4. According to the results, job insecurity is negatively related to both OBSE and AC. The reasons of examining the interaction of job insecurity and OBSE mainly rely on the fact that during this investigation the organizations were experiencing downsizing due to the financial crisis of the country in which they operated, similar to the case of Greece. Research has revealed that downsizing provokes uncertainty (related to programs of cutting jobs) and uncertainty in turn provokes negative employees’ working behaviours. Employees occupied by uncertainty about the continuance of their job are unable to see clearly how the organization perceives their existence as organizational members, a situation that may influence their perception of organization-based self-esteem (Lee & Peccei, 2006). Furthermore, according to their literature review on OBSE, Pierce and Gardner (2004: 605) conclude that ‘it is reasonable to hypothesize that people who feel that their organizational security is threatened may come to feel that they are no longer an important part of the organization – beliefs that are at the core of OBSE’.

OBSE has mostly been observed as a mediator or a moderator in several variable relationships (see Brutus, Ruderman, Ohlott & McCauley, 2000; Gardner, Van Dyne & Pierce, 2004), and for this reason this study will try to extend the examination of OBSE as a dependent variable correlated to job insecurity. Moreover, this study will introduce the construct of OBSE, a ‘key socio-emotional mechanism’ (Lee & Peccei, 2006: 662), in the Greek organizational context. The preceding discussion leads me to present the following hypothesis:

- Hypothesis 2: There is a negative relationship between job insecurity and

OBSE.

2.3 Perceived Employability and its moderating effect

Employability, a relatively new concept, concerns the ability of an individual to get a new job. It is about the possible opportunities of unemployed individuals to enter the

3 _{Perceived Organizational Support (POS), is defined as ‘the extent to which individuals believe that}

their employing organization values their contributions and cares for their well-being’ (Lee & Peccei,

2006, p. 661).

4

Affective Commitment (AC), is defined as ‘the employees’ emotional attachment to, identification

9 labour market and on the other hand, the ability of the employed individuals to maintain their job or get a new one, within the changing procedures that the organization has to go through (Berntson, et al., 2006). Theories mention that there are three levels of employability: governmental (i.e. the aim is for all the country’s individuals to be employed), organizational (i.e. the organization’s aim is to match the labour demand and supply) and individual level (i.e. the individual’s perception of his/her job opportunities) (Berntson & Marklund, 2007). In this research the interest is concentrated on the individual level of employability and for this reason I prefer to use the term perceived employability.

There are several definitions describing the concept of perceived employability. Bernston and Marklund (2007: 281) as well as Bernston, Sverke and Marklund (2006: 225) define it as ‘individual’s perception of his or her possibilities of getting new

employment’, while Fugate, Kinicki and Ashforth’s (2004: 21) definition refers to ‘one’s ability to identify and realise career opportunities’. Both definitions support

the subjective nature of employability.

During a period where the nature of work cannot remain constant and stable, employees’ perception of their employability becomes interesting and crucial. Nowadays, employees seek for employment security (i.e. being employed even when shifting from one job or company to another, ‘boundaryless careers’) instead of job stability (i.e. doing the same job or working for the same company) as they used to. Employment security is directly derived from individuals’ employability (Silla, De Cuyper, Gracia, Peiro & De Witte, 2009). Employability equips employees with feelings of control, security and freedom related to their job (Berntson, Naswall & Sverke, 2010; Fugate, et al., 2004). In this respect, and according to the results of most studies, perceived employability may reduce the unfavourable outcomes of job insecurity (e.g. reduced job satisfaction and well-being, increased turnover intention) through its moderating effect (Cuyper, Baillien & De Witte, 2009; Fugate, et al., 2004; Greenhalgh & Rosenblatt, 1984; Silla, et al., 2009). It is believed that employees react to the several changes but in a different way, depending on how each perceives his/her employability (Berntson, et al., 2010). An employee will perceive a situation as threatening if he/she does not have any way to face it. Conversely, if individuals feel employable, they also feel less threatened. In line with these results, perceived employability supports health, well-being and life satisfaction (Wittekind, et al., 2010). Interestingly, De Cuyper et al. (2009) mention that perceived employability strengthens employees in such a way (i.e. they seem to be less weak) that they avoid being a target during periods of economic downturn.

10 moderate this relationship by reducing employees’ feelings of control and security (Berntson, et al., 2010) and finally decreasing even more the levels of job satisfaction. In the same way, as job insecurity leads employees to feel uncertain about the maintenance of their job (Silla, et al., 2010) they become unable to see clearly the organization’s perception for them as organizational members (Lee & Peccei, 2006). Low levels of perceived employability may moderate this relationship by making employees feel more threatened and weak during periods of economic corruption (i.e. as they do not have alternatives for employment) (De Cuyper, et al., 2009) and consequently make them less motivated and committed to the organization (Hui & Lee, 2000). To my knowledge, no researcher has examined the constructs of perceived employability and OBSE as well as their interactions in the same study. From the abovementioned we conclude to the following hypotheses:

- Hypothesis 3: Perceived employability will moderate the relationship between

job insecurity and job satisfaction, so that the negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction is more pronounced under the condition of low versus high perceived employability.

- Hypothesis 4: Perceived employability will moderate the relationship between

job insecurity and OBSE, so that the negative relationship between job insecurity and job OBSE is more pronounced under the condition of low versus high perceived employability.

Figure 1 Theoretical model

3. RESEARCH METHODS

3.1 Sample and Procedure

In order to test the abovementioned hypotheses, a questionnaire was developed. It consisted of totally 44 multiple choice questions directly related to the topics of job insecurity, job satisfaction, OBSE, perceived employability, and several demographic characteristics. The sample was drawn from four large private organizations of the service sector; Athens International Airport, two Banks of Greece, and a

Job Insecurity Job Satisfaction

Perceived Employability

11 telecommunications company, all located in Athens, Greece. Questionnaires were collected within three weeks of May 2011.

Participants were granted that the responses will be kept confidential and their participation was voluntary. Questionnaires were distributed randomly to totally 200 employees out of whom 142 responded. The response rate was 71 per cent. The questionnaire was filled in by 73 (51.4 per cent) women and 69 (48.6 per cent) men. As far as their age is concerned, the estimated mean value is 36 years, ranging from 24 to 59 years, with a standard deviation of 9 years. In addition, 59.2 per cent of the participants were single and 40.8 per cent were married. Speculating the variables of education and annual income, the majority of them are under graduated (52.1 per cent) and the mode of their annual income is 10.000 to 15.000 Euros.

3.2 Measures

All measures used in the present study were self-reported and drawn from already published research. For each item participants were asked to assess their agreement or disagreement with statements scoring on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1= Strongly Disagree; 7= Strongly Agree). To assure the measure equivalence of the English and Greek versions, all the items used in the questionnaire were translated into Greek and then back-translated into English. The meta-analysis conducted by Sverke et al. (2002) concluded that a multi-item scale has greater reliability and validity compared to a single-item scale. For this reason, the questionnaire of this study composed solely of multi-item scales.

Job Insecurity. Job insecurity was assessed using the 4-item scale developed by De

Witte (2000). This scale reflects employees’ perception of losing their job. Examples of the items are ‘Changes are, I will soon lose my job’ and ‘I think I might lose my job in the near future’. Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was .916.

Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction was measured with the 15-item scale developed by

Roelen et al. (2008). Employees were asked to indicate the degree to which they felt satisfied with their current job, by responding to questions related to their ‘emotional

reactions and attitudes towards their job’ (Roelen et al., 2008). Some of the included

items are ‘Overall, I am satisfied with my current job’; ‘I am satisfied with the amount of work I have to do’; ‘I am satisfied with my supervisor’ and ‘Education and training in my job improve my career perspectives’. The Cronbach’s alpha of this scale in the present study was .878.

Organization-based Self-esteem. OBSE was assessed with the 10-item scale

12

Perceived Employability. Perceived employability was assessed with a 5-item scale

derived from De Witte (2000). The instrument was developed to identify employees’ perception of job opportunities in the external labour market. Examples of the items are ‘I am confident that I could quickly get another job at about the same pay, without having to move house’ and ‘I am optimistic that I will find another job, if I look for one’. The reliability coefficient for the scale of perceived employability in the present study was .781.

Control variables. Several socio-demographic variables were also examined in the

present research as control variables. In conformity with Mitchell’s view researchers must ‘actively try to conceptualize and measure those variables that may serve as potential confounds’ (Mitchell, 1985: 196, in Hui & Lee, 2000: 222). The control variables were included in the data analyses in order to examine all the possible aspects that could influence possitively or negatively the relationships under examination. Those are gender, age, and educational level.

3.3 Data Analysis

For analysing the collected data, multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression analysis were applied. This analysis consisted of the following variables: job insecurity as the independent variable, job satisfaction and OBSE as the dependent variables, and perceived employability as the moderator variable. In order to conduct the analysis, I used the SPSS 17.0 statistical program.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Correlation analysis

The descriptive statistics (i.e. means, standard deviations and variable correlations) for each of the study variables are presented in Table 2.

14

4.2 Hypotheses testing Job insecurity and Job satisfaction

Firstly, I hypothesized that there is a negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction (H1). Results indicated that the variables of job satisfaction and job insecurity have a significant negative correlation (r= -0.445) (Table 2). I applied a multiple linear regression model using job satisfaction as the dependent variable and gender, age and educational level as independent variables, as the first step. The coefficient R25 has an estimated value of 0.063 (Table 3). Speculating the results of the regression coefficients it was revealed that the control variable of age was statistically significant (0.026*). As a result, job satisfaction has a significant correlation with the control variable of age. This means that the older an employee is the more satisfied he/she is with his/her job.

Proceeding to step 2, I used the exact previous multiple regression model entering the variable of job insecurity. The remarkable result is that the control variable of age seems now having an insignificant correlation with the dependent variable of job satisfaction. The reason is that by entering the variable of job insecurity the correlation between age and job satisfaction is weakening. The coefficient R2 has an estimated value of 0.211 (Table 3) which is better than the previous one. Examining the regression coefficients I found out that only job insecurity has a significant negative correlation with job satisfaction. Specifically, when job insecurity increases by one point the job satisfaction reduces by 0.273 points.

Table 3 Results of the linear regression analysis (testing Hypothesis 1)

Job Satisfaction

2

R B

Step 1 (Control variables)

Gender 0.063 0.169 Age 0.026* Educational level -0.007 Step 2 Gender 0.211 0.187 Age 0.004 Educational level -0.064 Job insecurity -0.273* *p<0.05, **p<0.01

15

Job insecurity and OBSE

The second hypothesis expected that job insecurity had a negative relationship with Organization-based self-esteem (H2). Examining the results, the variables of job satisfaction and Organization-based self-esteem have a significant negative correlation (r= -0.221) (Table 2). I applied a multiple linear regression model using OBSE as the dependent variable and gender, age and educational level as independent variables, as the first step. The coefficient R2 has an estimated value of 0.056 (Table 4). Speculating the results of the regression coefficients it was revealed that the control variable of gender seems to be statistically significant (0.364*). As a result, OBSE has a significant relation with the control variable of gender. This means that women have higher levels of OBSE than men.

Proceeding to step 2, I used the exact previous multiple linear regression model entering the variable of job insecurity. The remarkable result is that the control variable of gender seems now having an insignificant correlation with the dependent variable of OBSE. The reason is that by entering the variable of job insecurity the correlation between gender and OBSE is weakening. The coefficient R2 has an estimated value of 0.188 (Table 4) which is better that the previous one. Examining the regression coefficients I found out that only job insecurity has a significant negative correlation with OBSE. Specifically, when job insecurity is being increased by one point the OBSE factor reduces by 0.142 points.

Table 4 Results of the linear regression analysis (testing Hypothesis 2)

Organization-based Self-esteem

2

R B

Step 1 (Control variables)

Gender 0.056 0.364* Age 0.005 Educational level 0.012 Step 2 Gender 0.188 0.123 Age -0.006 Educational level -0.018 Job insecurity -0.142* *p<0.05, **p<0.01

The moderating role of Perceived employability

16 Before using this specific model, it was needed to estimate the interaction between job insecurity and perceived employability in order to assess if perceived employability moderated the relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. In this model the independent variables were job insecurity, perceived employability and the interaction between these two variables. The dependent variable was job satisfaction. The first step of the multiple regression analysis has to do with the use of the control variables and the level of their significance. The estimated R of the applied 2 regression model is .063 (Table 5). Regarding the estimated coefficients, it is shown that the control variable of age is the only one that has a significant relation with the dependent variable of job satisfaction (0.026*). This means that the older an employee is the more satisfied he/she is with his/her job.

At the second step, the hierarchical linear regression proceeds testing the control variables (as at the first step) together with the variables inserted in the model (i.e. job insecurity, perceived employability, and their interaction). The result of step 2 is the exclusion of those variables that have insignificant relation with the dependent variable. In this case, hierarchical regression excluded all the control variables. Analysis showed that the variables significantly related to job satisfaction are job insecurity (-0.322*), perceived employability (0.189*) and their interaction (0.185*) (Table 5). In addition, it is shown that perceived employability can moderate the relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Specifically, perceived employability and its interaction with job insecurity have a positive correlation with job satisfaction. This means that when we take perceived employability into consideration, the relation between job insecurity and job satisfaction is getting weaker (Figure 2). Hypothesis 3 is supported by the results.

Table 5 Linear regression (Job insecurity, Perceived employability-Job satisfaction)

(testing Hypothesis 3)

Job Satisfaction

2

R B

Step 1 (Control variables)

Gender 0.063 0.169 Age 0.026* Educational level -0.007 Step 2 Gender 0.255 0.265 Age 0.009 Educational level -0.063 Job insecurity -0.322* Perceived employability 0.189*

17

Figure 2 Job insecurity – Job satisfaction and the influence of Perceived

employability

Similarly, it was examined if perceived employability moderates the relationship between job insecurity and OBSE, so that the negative relationship between job insecurity and OBSE will be stronger under the condition of low versus high perceived employability (H4). Likewise, a hierarchical linear regression model was used. This time, the independent variables were job insecurity, perceived employability, the interaction between these two variables and the control variables, while OBSE was the dependent variable. The first step of the multiple regression analysis has to do with the use of the control variables and the level of their significance. As we can see, the estimated R of the applied regression model is .056 2 (Table 6). Regarding the estimated coefficients, it appeared that the control variable of gender is the only one that has a significant correlation with the dependent variable of job satisfaction (0.364*). This means that women have higher levels of OBSE than men.

18 means that when we take perceived employability into consideration, the relation between job insecurity and job satisfaction is not influenced. Hypothesis 4 is not supported by the results.

Table 6 Linear regression (Job insecurity, Perceived employability-OBSE) (testing

Hypothesis 4)

Organization-based Self-esteem

2

R B

Step 1 (Control variables)

Gender 0.056 0.364* Age 0.005 Educational level 0.012 Step 2 Gender 0.133 0.167 Age -0.002 Educational level -0.030 Job insecurity -0.161* Perceived employability 0.112

Job insecurity * Perceived employability 0.047 *p<0.05, **p<0.01

4.3 Supplementary Analyses

The control variable of Age

As part of the statistical analysis, I examined separately the demographic variable of age, in order to define if it correlates with the four variables of this model. For this purpose I separated the age variable into three groups (i.e. 24-35, 36-45 and >46) in order to compare employees’ ratings of each variable and used the ANOVA6

analysis. The only significant outcome is that younger employees (i.e. 24-35) have higher levels of job insecurity and lower levels of job satisfaction, compared to the other age categories (Appendix, Figures 3, 4).

Frequency distribution of the variables

Some general but rather interesting findings for the Greek organizational environment during a period of political and economic corruption can be derived from the percentage frequency distribution of each variable as displayed below.

6 _{The ANOVA analysis’ purpose is to examine whether there is a strong correlation between age and}

19

Table 7 Percentage frequency distribution of each variable

Disagree Agree Neither agree nor

disagree

Job Insecurity 31.7 47.1 21.2

Job Satisfaction 16.2 54.2 29.6

OBSE 0.7 90.1 9.2

Perceived Employability 74.7 7.7 17.6

Note: all the numbers in the table indicate percentage.

In Table 8 ‘Disagree’ corresponds to the average of responses 1= strongly disagree, 2= moderately disagree and 3= slightly disagree. The ‘Agree’ column refers to the average of responses 5= slightly agree, 6= moderately agree and 7= strongly agree. ‘Neither agree nor disagree’ corresponds to option 4 of the questionnaire. As we can see above, among the employees of the four organizations the majority (47.1%) feels insecure about the continuance of his/her job in the future. Interestingly, responds indicate that more than half of the employees feel satisfied (54.2%) with their current job. Alongside with this, almost all employees (90.1%) have high levels of organization-based self-esteem. Finally, the majority of the employees (74.7%) do not perceive themselves as employable, meaning that they feel they do not have many external opportunities for employment. The ‘Agree’ response of employees for job satisfaction and OBSE was much higher than I expected. Nevertheless, the negative influence of job insecurity on job satisfaction and OBSE still exists. One possible explanation for the high levels of job satisfaction and OBSE could be the high percentage of employees who feel non-employable. Since the research took place during a period of dramatically incremental unemployment, those who are currently employed feel satisfied with their job even if it is actually a satisfying job or not. Considering the continuously growing number of unemployed individuals, those employed may be satisfied with the fact that they have a job rather than with the job itself.

5. DISCUSSION

The present study mainly focused on the constructs of job insecurity, perceived employability, job satisfaction, and OBSE. Literature related to these variables was reviewed. Previous findings related to the relationships of the abovementioned variables were also confirmed in this study. Moreover, in order to extend the literature of these concepts, a new relationship between the variables of job insecurity, perceived employability and OBSE was examined.

5.1 Findings

20 examined whether low versus high perceived employability moderates these relationships in a way that makes them more pronounced.

Consistent with Hypotheses 1 and 2, the findings of this study support that job insecurity negatively influences job satisfaction and OBSE. In conformity with literature, these results show that job insecurity is directly related to employees’ negative attitudes (Silla, et al., 2010). More specifically, as levels of job insecurity increase, employees’ levels of job satisfaction and OBSE decrease (De Witte, 2005; Sverke, et al., 2002; Sverke & Hellgren, 2002; Lee & Peccei, 2006; Pierce, et al., 1989). Although these relationships have already been widely examined by researchers, the findings contribute to the literature, since a similar study had not previously been conducted for the Greek organizations. Hypothesis 3 was also confirmed by the results. The moderating effect of perceived employability was significant for the relationship of job insecurity and job satisfaction. This outcome indicates that when employees perceive themselves as employable, there is a less negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. In contrary to the abovementioned findings, Hypothesis 4 was not supported by the results. The expected moderating effect of perceived employability appeared to be non-significant. This means that perceived employability cannot moderate and consequently does not influence the relationship of job insecurity and OBSE. The contribution of this part of the study is that I incorporated in the same model the variables of perceived employability, OBSE and their interactions, something that according to my knowledge has not been observed before. Moreover, the construct of OBSE was introduced in the literature of the Greek organizational context.

There are some reasons which may explain why Hypothesis 4 was not supported by the results. According to the percentage frequency distribution of each variable (Table 7), 90.1% of the respondents have high levels of OBSE. This extremely high percentage could barely be influenced by another variable such as perceived employability. Another possible explanation could be that perceived employability concerns career opportunities and the ability to get a new job in the future (Bernston, et al., 2006), while OBSE represents the self-perception of employees resulting from their past experiences (i.e. success or failure of tasks) in their current job (Hui & Lee, 2000). In this respect, past events cannot change and employees’ perceptions of their current job and themselves in it are difficult to be influenced. Conversely, self-perception based on past experiences (i.e. OBSE) can more easily influence other variables (e.g. job satisfaction, employee performance). This could possibly explain the limited research on OBSE as a dependent variable.

5.2 Theoretical Implication

21 perceived employability. Even though Hypothesis 4 was not supported by the results, the relationship between job insecurity, perceived employability and OBSE had not previously been examined in this way. There could be further research to examine if perceived employability can moderate the relationship of job insecurity and OBSE. For example, it would be interesting to examine the same relationship within the organizational environment of other countries. Lower levels of employees’ job insecurity, perceived employability or OBSE may result in different interactions of these variables.

Considering the current situation of Greece, where levels of job insecurity are high and levels of perceived employability low, more research concerning those constructs is needed to provide helpful information and guidance to the Greek organizations, in order to be able to face effectively situations of uncertainty. Furthermore, other moderators such as need for security and fairness could be incorporated and examined in this model.

5.3 Practical implication

22

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research

Several limitations that restrict the results of this study should be acknowledged. Data were collected from four large private organizations operating in the service sector. The findings of the present study cannot be generalized to all organizations without considering their size and the sector in which they operate. For example, results may be completely different in the case of a public organization, a small family-owned organization or an organization of the industrial sector. Moreover, the number of participants for this research was 142. Comparing to the huge number of organizations located in Athens and the analogous number of individuals employed in those organizations, a larger sample might be more appropriate in order to get more accurate results.Moreover, the questionnaire was randomly distributed, which means that participants come from different hierarchical layers. Participants’ responses could be grouped depending on their position in the organization. In this case, different results could be revealed.

Another important limitation is that all the scales included in the questionnaire are self-reported and rely on each respondent’s subjective perception of each case. This incorporates a great potential for bias in the results as employees’ judgement might be influenced by different feelings in different times. Furthermore, as I mentioned in the chapter of Theory, several researchers find it critical to distinguish job insecurity into several types such as cognitive, affective, quantitative and qualitative and examine each separately (Sverke & Hellgren, 2002). In this study, this distinction was not taken into account. I did not examine how the relationship of job insecurity and job satisfaction, or job insecurity and OBSE would differentiate across the abovementioned types of job insecurity.

23

REFERENCES

Argolampou, M. (2009, 2 8). Exitpoll. Retrieved 2 2011, from http://exitpoll.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/εργαζόμενοι-υψηλού-ρίσκου

Ashford, S. J., Lee, C., & Bobko, P. (1989). 'Content, causes, and consequences of job insecurity: A theory-based measure and substantive test'. Academy of

Management Journal, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 803-829.

Barling, J., Dupre, K., & Hepburn, C. (1998). 'Effects of Parents' Job Insecurity on Children's Work Beliefs and Attitudes'. Journal of Applied Psychology , Vol. 83 (1), pp. 112-118.

Berntson, E., & Marklund, S. (2007). 'The relationship between perceived employability and subsequent health'. Work & Stress , 21 (3), pp. 279-292. Berntson, E., Naswall, K., & Sverke, M. (2010). 'The moderating role of

employability in the association between job insecurity and exit, voice, loyalty and neglect' . Economic and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 215-230.

Berntson, E., Sverke, M., & Marklund, S. (2006). 'Predicting Perceived Employability: Human Capital or Labour Market Opportunities?'. Economic

and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 223-244.

Bowling, N., Eschleman, K.J., Wang, Q., Kirkendall, C., & Alarcon, G. (2010). 'Ameta-analysis of the predictors and consequences of organization-based self-esteem'. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 83, pp. 601-626.

Brutus, S., Ruderman, M.N., Ohlott, P.J., & McCauley, C.D. (2000). 'Developing from job experiences: The role of Organization-Based Self-Esteem'. Human

Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 367-380.

Buitendach, J., & De Witte, H. (2005). 'Job insecurity, extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction and affective organisational commitment of maintenance workers in a parastatal'. South African Journal of Business Management, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 27-37.

Cheng, G. H.-L., & Chan, D.-S. (2008). 'Who Suffers More from Job Insecurity? A Meta-Analytic Review'. International Association of Applied Psychology, Vol. 57 (2), pp. 272-303.

Cheng, Y., Chen, C., Chen, C., & Chiang, T. (2005). 'Job insecurity and its association with health among employeesin the Taiwanese general population'.

24 Davy, J., Kinicki, A., & Scheck, C. (1997). 'A test of job security's direct and mediated effects on withdrawal cognitions'. Journal of Organizational

Behavior, Vol. 18, pp. 323-349.

De Cuyper, N., Baillien, E., & De Witte, H. (2009). 'Job insecurity, perceived employability and targets' and perpetrators' experiences of workplace bullying'. Work & Stress, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 206-224.

De Witte, H. (2000). 'Arbeidsethos en Jobonzekerheid: Meting en Gevolgen voor Welzijn, Tevredenheid en Inzet op het Werk'. In R. Bouwen, K. de Witte, H. de

Witte, & T. Taillieu (Eds.), Van groep naar gemeenschap. Liber Amicorum Prof. Dr. Leo Lagrou, pp. 325-350, Leuven, Belgium: Garant.

De Witte, H. (2005). 'Job Insecurity: Review of the international literature on definitions, prevalence, antecedents and consequences'. SA Journal of

Industrial Psychology, Vol. 31 (4), pp. 1-6.

Economist Intelligence Unit. (2010). 'Monthly review: June 2010: Economic performance'. Economist Intelligence Unit, pp. 16-18.

Feather, N., & Katrin, A.R. (2004). 'Organizational citizenship behaviours in relation to job status, job insecurity, organizational commitment and identification, job satisfaction and work values'. Journal of Occupational and Organizational

Psychology, 77, pp. 81-94.

Ferrie, J. (2001). 'Is job insecurity harmful to health?'. Journal of the Royal Society of

Medicine, Vol. 94, pp. 71-76.

Ferrie, J., Shipley, M., & Marmot, M. (2002). 'Effects of chronic job insecurity and change in job security on self reported health, minor psychiatric morbidity, physiological measures, and health related behaviors in British civil servants: the Whitehall II study'. Journal of Epidemiol Community Health, Vol. 56, pp. 450-454.

Fugate, M., Kinicki, A.J., & Ashforth, B.E. (2004). 'Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications'. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 14-38.

Gardner, D., Van Dyne, L., & Pierce, J.L. (2004). 'The effects of pay level on organization-based self-esteem and performance: A field study'. Journal of

Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 77, pp. 307-322.

Greenhalgh, L., & Rosenblatt, Z. (1984). 'Job Insecurity: Toward Conceptual Clarity'.

Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 438-448.

Greenhalgh, L., & Rosenblatt, Z. (2010). 'Evolution of Research on Job Insecurity'.

25 Hartley, J., Jacobson, D., Klandermans, B., & Van Vuuren, T. (1991). 'Job Insecurity:

Coping with jobs at risk'. London: Sage.

Heaney, C., Israel, B., & House, J. (1994). 'Chronic job insecurity among automobile workers: Effects on job satisfaction and health'. Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 38, pp. 1431-1437.

Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT.). (2010, December 16). Hellenic Statistical

Authority . Retrieved from

http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A0101&r_param=SJO01&y_param=2010_03&mytabs=0 Hui, C., & Lee, C. (2000). 'Moderating effects of organization-based self-esteem on

organizational uncertainty: employee response relationships'. Journal of

Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 215-232.

Iscaro, D. (2010). 'Greece'. IHS Global Insight (USA), pp. 63-69.

Korman, A. (1976). 'Hypothesis of work behavior revisited and an extension'.

Academy of Management Review, Vol. 1, pp. 50-63.

Laszlo, K., Pikhart, H., Kopp, M., Bobak, M., Pajak, A., Malyutina, S., et al. (2010). 'Job insecurity and health: Astudy of 16 European countries'. Social Science &

Medicine, Vol.70, pp. 867-874.

Lee, J. (2003). 'An analysis of the antecedents of organization-based self-esteem in two Korean banks'. The International Journal of Human Resource

Management, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 1046-1066.

Lee, J., & Peccei, R. (2006). 'Perceived organizational support and affective commitment: the mediating role of organization-based self-esteem in the context of job insecurity'. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 28, pp. 661-685.

Linz, S. (2003). 'Job satisfaction among Russian workers'. International Journal of

Manpower, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 626-652.

Locke, E. (1976). 'Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: A Theoretical Analysis'.

Organizational Behavior and Human Decesion Processes, Vol. 5, pp.

484-500.

26 Meyer, J., & Allen, N.J. (1991). 'A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment'. Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 1, pp. 61-89.

Mitchell, T. (1985). 'An evaluation of the validity of correlational research conducted in organizations.'. Acaademy of Management Review, Vol. 10, pp. 192-205. Pierce, J., & Gardner, D.G. (2004). 'Self-esteem within the work and organizational

context: A review of the organization-beased self-esteem literature'. Journal of

Management, Vol. 30, No. 5, pp. 591-622.

Pierce, J.L., Gardner, D.G., Gummings, L.L., & Dunham, R.B. (1989). 'Organization- based self-esteem: Construct definition, measurement, and validation'.

Academy of Managemt Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 622-648.

Probst, T., & Brubaker, T. (2001). 'The Effects of Job Insecurity on Employee Safety Outcomes: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Explorations'. Journal of

Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp.139-159.

Reisel, W., Probst, T., S.L., C., Manoles, C., & Konig, C. (2010). 'The Effects of Job Insecurity on Job Satisfaction, Organisational Citizenship Behavior, Deviant Behavior , and Negative Emotions of Employees'. International Studies of

Management & Organization, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 74-91.

Roelen, C., Koopmans, P.C., & Groothoff, J.W. (2008). 'Which work factors determine job satisfaction?'. IOS Press, Work 30, pp. 433-439.

Rothwell, A., & Arnold, J. (2007). 'Self-perceived employability: development and validation of a scale'. Personnel Review, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 23-41.

Silla, I., De Cuyper, N., Gracia, F.J., Peiro, J.M., & De Witte, H. (2009). 'Job Insecurity and Well-Being: Moderation by Employability'. Journal of

Happiness Studies, Vol. 10, pp. 739-751.

Silla, I., Gracia, F., Manas, M.A., & Peiro, J.M. (2010). 'Job insecurity and employees' attitudes: the moderating role of fairness'. International Journal of

Manpower, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 449-465.

Sora, B., Caballer, A., Peiro, J., & De Witte, H. (2009). 'Job insecurity climate's influence on employees' job attitudes: Evidence from two European countries'.

European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 2,

pp. 125-147.

Sverke, M., & Hellgren, J. (2002). 'The Nature of Job Insecurity: Understanding Employment Uncertainty on the Brink of a New Millenium'. International

27 Sverke, M., Hellgren, J., & Naswall, K. (2002). 'No Security: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Job Insecurity and Its Consequences'. Journal of Occupational

Health Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 242-264.

The World Economic Forum. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2011, from http://www.weforum.org/

28

APPENDIX

Figure 3 Correlation Age-Job insecurity