Supervisor and customer incivility as moderators of the relationship between job insecurity and work engagement: Evidence from a new context

Abstract

Earlier studies on job insecurity tested job resources that may buffer the usual negative impact of job insecurity on job outcomes. The current study extends prior results by establishing that, given certain conditions, such as during an economic crisis that often gives rise to a dearth of employment opportunities and a precariousness of employment, perceived job insecurity could positively predict work engagement. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between perceived job insecurity and work engagement, and supervisor and customer incivility as moderators of this relationship. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,200 volunteer mini-bus drivers from nine mass transit services companies in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. Results of a structural equation model (SEM) showed that job insecurity was positively related to work engagement. In turn, this positive relationship was weakened by supervisor incivility (but not by customer incivility). The results suggest that when supervisors are not supervised they could jeopardize employee effort.