Job insecurity is a significant source of stress. Unresolved questions persist regarding the measurement of job insecurity. This paper aims to introduce a revised and abridged version of the Multidimensional Job Insecurity Questionnaire (MJIQ-R), which seeks to provide a comprehensive and well-balanced assessment of job insecurity across its primary dimensions and specific components. Two studies conducted in Italy investigated the dimensionality, reliability, and concurrent validity of the MJIQ-R (total N = 847). Results led to a final 16-item version of the MJIQ-R. Findings supported the identification of two major primary factors—quantitative and qualitative—and four narrow second-order dimensions related to the affective and cognitive components of job insecurity. Measurement invariance tests demonstrated that factor structure replicates across different groups. Reliability was fully satisfactory. Concurrent validity was examined against established job insecurity outcomes. The MJIQ-R could serve as a reliable and valid instrument for comprehensively capturing the complexity of the job insecurity construct.
AllanBAAutinKLWilkins-YelKG (2021) Precarious work in the 21st century: A psychological perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior126: 103491.
2.
AllenNJMeyerJP (1996) Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: An examination of construct validity. Journal of Vocational Behavior49(3): 252–276.
BarleySRBechkyBAMillikenFJ (2017) The changing nature of work: Careers, identities, and work lives in the 21st century. Academy of Management Discoveries3(2): 111–115.
5.
BaumanZ (2007) Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty. Polity Press.
6.
BlotenbergIRichterA (2020) Validation of the QJIM: A measure of qualitative job insecurity. Work & Stress34(4): 406–417.
7.
BorgIElizurD (1992) Job insecurity: Correlates, moderators and measurement. International Journal of Manpower13(2): 13–26.
8.
BrondinoMBazzoliAVander ElstTet al. (2020) Validation and measurement invariance of the multidimensional qualitative job insecurity scale. Quality and Quantity54(3): 925–942.
9.
ChengGH-LChanDK-S (2008) Who suffers more from job insecurity? A meta-analytic review. Applied Psychology57(2): 272–303.
ChirumboloAAreniA (2010) Job insecurity influence on job performance and mental health: Testing the moderating effect of the need for closure. Economic and Industrial Democracy31(2): 195–214.
12.
ChirumboloAUrbiniFCalleaA (2020) Dimensionality, reliability, and validity of a multidimensional job insecurity questionnaire: Preliminary findings in the Italian context. Rassegna di Psicologia37(1): 35–46.
13.
ChirumboloAUrbiniFCalleaALo PrestiATalamoA (2017) Occupations at risk and organizational well-being: An empirical test of a job insecurity integrated model. Frontiers in Psychology8: 297055.
14.
CohenSKamarckTMermelsteinR (1983) A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior24(4): 385–396.
15.
ComreyALLeeHB (1992) A First Course in Factor Analysis, 2nd edn.Lawrence Erlbaum.
16.
De CuyperNDe WitteH (2006) The impact of job insecurity and contract type on attitudes, well-being and behavioral reports: A psychological contract perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology79(3): 395–409.
17.
De CuyperNSelenkoEEuwemaMSchaufeliW (eds) (2023b) Job Insecurity, Precarious Employment and Burnout. Edward Elgar Publishing.
18.
De WitteH (2000) Work ethic and job insecurity: Assessment and consequences for well-being, satisfaction and performance at work. In: BowenRDe WitteKDe WitteHTaillieuT (eds) From Group to Community. Garant, pp. 325–350.
19.
De WitteH (2005) Job insecurity: Review of the international literature on definitions, prevalence, antecedents and consequences. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology31(4): 1–6.
20.
De WitteH (1999) Job insecurity and psychological well-being: Review of the literature and exploration of some unresolved issues. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology8(2): 155–177.
21.
De WitteHNäswallK (2003) “Objective” vs “subjective” job insecurity: Consequences of temporary work for job satisfaction and organizational commitment in four European countries. Economic and Industrial Democracy24(2): 149–188.
22.
De WitteHPienaarJDe CuyperN (2016) Review of 30 years of longitudinal studies on the association between job insecurity and health and well-being: Is there causal evidence?Australian Psychologist51(1): 18–31.
FischmannGCorbeanuASpinuRet al. (2023) Job insecurity, job security, job future ambiguity? Oh my. . . A new step towards conceptual clarity. In: De CuyperNSelenkoEEuwemaMSchaufeliW (eds) Job Insecurity, Precarious Employment and Burnout. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 12–29.
27.
FischmannGDe WitteHSuleaCet al. (2022) Validation of a short and generic Qualitative Job Insecurity Scale (QUAL-JIS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment38(5): 397–411.
28.
GreenhalghLRosenblattZ (1984) Job insecurity: Toward conceptual clarity. Academy of Management Review9(3): 438–448.
29.
HayesAFCouttsJJ (2020) Use omega rather than Cronbach’s alpha for estimating reliability. But. . .Communication Methods and Measures14(1): 1–24.
30.
HairJFBlackWCBabinBJAndersonRE (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis. Prentice Hall.
31.
HellgrenJSverkeMIsakssonK (1999) A two-dimensional approach to job insecurity: Consequences for employee attitudes and well-being. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology8(2): 179–195.
32.
HuLTBentlerPM (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal6(1): 1–55.
33.
HuangGNiuXLeeCAshfordSJ (2012) Differentiating cognitive and affective job insecurity: Antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior33(6): 752–769.
34.
JiangLLavaysseLM (2018) Cognitive and affective job insecurity: A meta-analysis and a primary study. Journal of Management44(6): 2307–2342.
35.
KimHY (2013) Statistical notes for clinical researchers: Assessing normal distribution using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics38(1): 52–54.
36.
KlandermansBVan VuurenT (1999) Job insecurity: Introduction. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology8(2): 145–153.
37.
KlineP (2013) Handbook of Psychological Testing, 2nd edn.Routledge.
38.
KlugKSelenkoEVan HootegemAet al. (2024a) A lead article to go deeper and broader in job insecurity research: Understanding an individual perception in its social and political context. Applied Psychology73(4): 1960–1993.
39.
KlugKSelenkoEVan HootegemAet al. (2024b) Seeing the forest for the trees: A response to commentaries on job insecurity conceptualizations, processes and social context. Applied Psychology73(4): 2002–2012.
40.
KreshpajBOrellanaCBurströmBet al. (2020) What is precarious employment? A systematic review of definitions and operationalizations from quantitative and qualitative studies. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health46(3): 235–247.
41.
LeeCHuangGHAshfordSJ (2018) Job insecurity and the changing workplace: Recent developments and the future trends in job insecurity research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior5: 335–359.
42.
MoïsiD (2009) The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope are Reshaping the World. The Bodley Head.
43.
MondoMSechiCCabrasC (2021) Psychometric evaluation of three versions of the Italian Perceived Stress Scale. Current Psychology40: 1884–1892.
44.
MuthénLKMuthénBO (2017) Mplus User’s Guide. Muthén and Muthén.
45.
O’NeillPSevastosP (2013) The development and validation of a new multidimensional Job Insecurity Measure (JIM): An inductive methodology. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology18(3): 338–349.
46.
NäswallKDe WitteH (2003) Who feels insecure in Europe? Predicting job insecurity from background variables. Economic and Industrial Democracy24(2): 189–215.
47.
RampiniF (2015) L'età del caos [The age of chaos]. Mondadori.
48.
SchabracqMJCooperCL (2000) The changing nature of work and stress. Journal of Managerial Psychology15(3): 227–241.
49.
SchreiberJBStageFKKingJet al. (2006) Modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. Journal of Educational Research99(6): 323–337.
50.
ScoonesIStirlingA (2020) The Politics of Uncertainty: Challenges of Transformation. Routledge.
51.
ShossMK (2017) Job insecurity: An integrative review and agenda for future research. Journal of Management43(6): 1911–1939.
52.
SjöbergASverkeM (2000) The interactive effect of job involvement and organizational commitment on job turnover revisited: A note on the mediating role of turnover intention. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology41(3): 247–252.
53.
SverkeMHellgrenJ (2002) The nature of job insecurity: Understanding employment uncertainty on the brink of a new millennium. Applied Psychology: An International Review51(1): 23–42
54.
SverkeMHellgrenJNäswallK (2002) No security: A meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology7(3): 242–264.
55.
SverkeMHellgrenJNäswallKet al. (2004) Job Insecurity and Union Membership: European Unions in the Wake of Flexible Production. Peter Lang.
56.
SverkeMLåstadLHellgrenJet al. (2019) A meta-analysis of job insecurity and employee performance: Testing temporal aspects, rating source, welfare regime, and union density as moderators. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health16(14): 2536.
57.
TabachnickBGFidellLSUllmanJB (2013) Using Multivariate Statistics, 6th edn.Pearson.
58.
The Jamovi Project (2024) Jamovi (Version 2.5) [Computer Software]. Available at: https://www.jamovi.org.
59.
Van WykMPienaarJ (2008) Towards a research agenda for job insecurity in South Africa. Southern African Business Review12(2): 49–86.
60.
Van de SchootRLugtigPHoxJ (2012) A checklist for testing measurement invariance. European Journal of Developmental Psychology9(4): 486–492.
61.
VandenbergRJLanceCE (2000) A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods3(1): 4–70.
62.
Vander ElstTDe WitteHDe CuyperN (2014) The Job Insecurity Scale: A psychometric evaluation across five European countries. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology23(3): 364–380.
63.
VivesAAmableMFerrerMet al. (2010) The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES): Psychometric properties of a new tool for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers. Occupational and Environmental Medicine67(8): 548–555.
64.
World Bank (2018) World development report 2019: The changing nature of work. The World Bank.
