Self-perceived job insecurity across Europe over time - does changing context matter?

August 2012

Self-perceived job insecurity across Europe over time does changing context matter?

- Preliminary version: Please do not cite

Abstract

Job insecurity in terms of an employees evaluation of the continuity in a current job displays a high variety across European countries, wherefore previous research has mainly focused on the impact of labour market conditions and welfare state institutions. This paper adds to the existing research in several ways: First, it focuses on two cognitive components separately namely the self-perceived likelihood and the self-perceived severity of job loss. Second, this study expands the range of context determinants by the past development of the labour market and welfare state interventions. I argue that not the current state of the labour market and welfare state institutions alone, but also recent changes of this context are relevant for individuals evaluation of job insecurity. And third, this study examines how the link between welfare state institutions and the individuals perception of job insecurity varies under changing labour market conditions. Relying on data from the 2nd and 5th Round of the European Social Survey and contextual information provided by the OECD, multilevel analyses are conducted. The results reveal that the past development of the labour market and changes in the welfare state interventions contributes to explain individuals perception of job insecurity. In addition, it became apparent that the link between the welfare institutions and the subjective job insecurity depends on the development of the labour market. The findings represent a promising starting point for further research.

Contact

Dipl.-Soz. Christiane Lbke[footnoteRef:1]Institute of SociologyUniversity of Duisburg-Essen [1: The author would like to thank Marcel Erlinghagen for very helpful comments and suggestions.]

47057 Duisburg, Germany

christiane.luebke@uni-due.de

Introduction

The changing nature of the labour market has received particular attention from researchers and the general public. A large part of discussion deals with the growing deregulation and flexibility of labour markets in Europe that lead to a spread of precarious labour forms such as part-time work, fixed-term contracts and temporary agency employment (Kalleberg, 2000). Whereas some interpret this trend as an expression of the erosion of the standard employment relationship (e.g., Castel, 2000), others emphasise the persistent stability of European labour markets (e.g., Auer & Cazes, 2000; Erlinghagen & Knuth, 2004).

Irrespective of this debate, great attention deserves the fact that self-perceived job insecurity in terms of an employees evaluation of the continuity in a current job is widely spread under changing labour market conditions and welfare institutions in Europe (e.g., Bckerman, 2004; Erlinghagen, 2008; OECD, 1997). To direct the focus towards self-perceived job insecurity is of particular relevance as research frequently has shown that the perception of job insecurity and not only objective insecurity itself is associated with detrimental consequences for individuals, namely reduced well-being (e.g., Drobnic et al., 2010), health impairments (e.g., Lszl et al., 2010), and a large range of personal and family problems (e.g., Larson et al., 1994). Furthermore, researchers have pointed out the consequences for the economy as self-perceived job insecurity is also related to a cut of consumer and household spending (e.g., Benito, 2006).

Against this background, a remarkable research strand evolved which examines the determinants of self-perceived job insecurity (e.g. Anderson & Pontusson, 2007; Chung & van Oorschot, 2011; Clark & Postel-Vinay, 2008; Erlinghagen, 2008). As self-perceived job insecurity displays a considerable variation across European countries (e.g., OECD, 1997), the main focus of these studies is the country-specific context as a determinant of individuals perception of job insecurity. A main source of this variation is supposed to be the correspondingly different opportunity structure of the labour market. It determines both the stability of existing jobs and the availability of job vacancies. Thus, the labour market is the most obvious source of perceived job insecurity. In addition to the labour market, the interventions by the welfare state are regarded as being crucial for the perception of job insecurity. Through its institutions the welfare state has the possibility to enhance or constrain the perception of labour market risks. However, the empirical evidence is not that clear and satisfactory as one would expect. First of all, very few studies have been able to detect significant associations between context indicators and the perception of job insecurity at the individual level in multivariate analysis (e.g. Anderson & Pontusson, 2007; Chung & van Oorschot, 2011; Clark & Postel-Vinay, 2008; Erlinghagen, 2008). And second, those findings that exist are to some extent contradictory. For example, Chung and van Oorschot (2011) could prove that the economic growth is significant associated with the level of job insecurity, whereas Erlinghagen (2008) found no such significant relationship with the economic growth. Up to now, the question of how the context shapes individual's perception of job insecurity still remains largely unanswered.

Addressing this question, this paper adds to the existing research by focusing on the changing context as the crucial determinant of self-perceived job insecurity. I will argue that not the current state of the labour market and welfare state institutions alone, but also recent changes of this context are relevant for individuals evaluation of job insecurity. People form their option about their job insecurity by evaluation their environment as a reference serves their past experience. With regard to the labour market, this can easily be understood: Studies (e.g., Erlinghagen, 2008) which consider for instance the level of unemployment suppose that people react to labour market conditions. They assume that the punctual indicator reflects the economic circumstances. However, the current situation is the result of a declining or increasing overall development which is the basis of employees perception of developments in the near future. Therefore, this study takes additionally the past development of the labour market into account.

Also the role of welfare state institutions must be considered from the angle of changing context. First, institutions can be a determining factor itself as people evaluate their effectiveness. A change in welfare state interventions can create insecurity when employees are not satisfied with the change or when it is not yet possible for them to evaluate the new arrangement. Thus, this study takes a closer look at the association between the change in welfare interventions and the individual perception of job insecurity in European countries. In addition, institutions can play a mediating role and buffer the consequences of labour market risks. This may, however, be the case only under specific labour market conditions. This is why this study examines in a further step the impact of institutions on individuals perception of job insecurity under changing labour market conditions.

The paper proceeds as follows: At first, I outline the applied multidimensional approach of self-perceived job insecurity. This study distinguishes between the self-perceived likelihood and the severity of job loss. As both are distinct components of the overall concept of job insecurity, I expect them to be differently related to the context. Based on previous research, I focus then on the determinants of self-perceived job insecurity. In particular the relevance of the opportunity structure of the labour market and the interventions by welfare state institutions will be discussed. Relying on data from the 2nd and 5th Round of the European Social Survey, the empirical section starts with a descriptive overview of the scope and development of self-perceived job insecurity in 2004 and 2010 in Europe. Thereafter, multilevel logistic regression models are presented in order to test the influence of the changing context.

A multidimensional approach of self-perceived job insecurity

This study is based on a multidimensional approach of self-perceived job insecurity which takes account of the current state of research on this issue. The foundation was laid by Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984, p. 438) who defined job insecurity as the perceived powerlessness to maintain desired continuity in a threatened job situation. Other researchers build upon their work and defined job insecurity in similar ways (for an overview see Sverke & Hellgren, 2002).

A common feature of these definitions is the aspect of subjectivity which implies that individuals perceive and evaluate their environment to form their expectations concerning their future job situation. The base of this evaluation process is an apparently objective reality. Job insecurity, however, is neither foreseeable nor objectively measurable. Approaches that attempt to detect job insecurity through objective indicators (such as the type of employment contract) overlook the fact that it heavily depends on the individual's perception of their situation. Recent research has indicated that apparently objective insecure job situations do not necessarily lead to subjective job insecurity (Klandermans et al., 2010). In turn, it is also true that not all kind of subjective insecurity can be attributed to a detectable objective reality (Rosenblatt & Ruvio, 1996).

Apart from the subjective character, previous rese