Spillover outcomes of job insecurity: differences among men and women ( Consecuencias indirectas de la inseguridad laboral: diferencias entre hombres y mujeres )

Abstract

A vast literature on job insecurity can be found. However, there are still several significant research gaps. Little attention has been paid to the spillover effect of job insecurity on employees’ family, and the role of gender in relation to job insecurity is unclear. Hence, the purpose of this study was twofold: first, to analyse the potentially detrimental effects of job insecurity on employees’ families (e.g., family satisfaction, family cohesion and family flexibility); and second, to determine whether there are differences between men and women in job insecurity perception and its association with the spillover outcomes in family domain. In fact, this study tested competing theoretical predictions surrounding the role of gender related to job insecurity. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the following hypotheses were confirmed: (1) job insecurity was related to lower levels of family satisfaction, family cohesion and family flexibility; (2) gender moderated the relationship between job insecurity and family outcomes, but curiously this moderation results were in an unexpected direction. Women increased their family cohesion and family flexibility when they experienced job insecurity. However, non-differences in job insecurity perception between men and women were found.