Job insecurity

A widely discussed form of job insecurity is risk of job loss. This is associated with income loss and importantly, loss of other valued non-pecuniary features of jobs. Studies show workers have relatively accurate perceptions of their probability of job loss. Job security is affected by the state of the external labour market, union strength and government regulations of employers’ workforce adjustments. As for the latter, these policies involve trade-offs (such as permanent vs. temporary contacts). Despite oft-made claims of a trend towards increasing job insecurity, evidence supporting them is weak. As for consequences of job insecurity, plenty of evidence exists suggesting it has negative effects on employees’ health and well-being, not only in connection with actual job loss but also with increases in perceived insecurity. Effects are amplified by the loss of non-pecuniary job features.