Job insecurity, knowledge hiding, and team outcomes

Abstract

Job insecurity – the threat to the continuity and stability of one’s employment – is an increasingly pervasive issue facing the vast majority of employees. There has been much knowledge accumulated about antecedent and outcomes of job insecurity. However, further advancements in our theoretical and empirical approaches can help us to better understand the consequences, processes, and boundary conditions of job insecurity itself, job insecurity change, and job insecurity climate. With four papers using a moderated mediation model and one paper using a dynamic, mediated model, the current symposium contributes to our understanding of job insecurity by: (1) exploring why and when job insecurity is associated with employee health outcomes and proactive behaviors, (2) examining sources and consequences of job insecurity change when significant organizational changes were taking place, and (3) identifying mechanisms and boundary conditions in the relationship between job insecurity climate at the team level and team outcomes. By showcasing five empirical papers, this symposium focuses on identifying and exploring novel moderators and mediators in the job insecurity process to enrich our understanding of job insecurity, job insecurity change, and job insecurity climate. Together, the combined contributions of these papers add to our understanding of job insecurity as a between-person, within-person and/or multilevel process and illuminate future avenues for research within the field.