The Nature of Job Insecurity - Psicologia del Disagio Lavorativo ...

38 SVERKE AND HELLGREN
issues of causality, long-term effects of insecurity, and its relative effects
after controlling for other important factors, such as initial levels of the
outcomes under study. In order to address these issues in a proper way,
additional theory development is necessary. Conceptual refinement appears
justified to broaden the definition of job insecurity to encompass more than
threats of job loss. Although work has been done in this direction, concerns
about valued job features represent an area where several different aspects
are plausible, for instance, threats of impaired job content, demotion, pay
development, and relations with co-workers. Such theoretical work should
be carried out in close cooperation with development, and validation, of
measures to reflect these different dimensions.
We also believe that further research is needed to examine how the negative
effects of job insecurity can be reduced. Three areas of moderators
seem especially important—individual differences, fairness perceptions, and
social support—but we have noted that surprisingly little research has
examined the social support labor unions can provide employees in situations
of retrenchment.
As the flexibility of the labor market is likely to increase even more rapidly
in the new millennium, it is also of vital importance that research on job
insecurity is sensitive to changes in working life and addresses more modern
forms of employment relationships. While flexibility certainly meets the
demands of many employers, it could well be that work on a project basis
and temporary employment are also in line with the expectations and wishes
of certain groups of individuals, presumably young workers, professionals,
and employees in emerging industry sectors. If such a value shift is taking
place, then the construct of job insecurity takes on still other connotations,
such as threats to continuous on-the-job training, professional development,
and future employability.
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© International Association for Applied Psychology, 2002.