Objective threat of unemployment and situational uncertainty during a restructuring: Associations with perceived job insecurity and strain

Purpose: This study investigates objective threat of unemployment and situational uncertainty following restructuring in relation to perceived job insecurity and associated strain. Design/Methodology: We sampled workers (N = 122) from a Belgian service organization that had recently announced its intention to downsize. Objective threat of unemployment was present in workers who were informed about dismissal. Situational uncertainty was high among workers for whom the decision about dismissal was pending. There was a low objective threat of unemployment and low situational uncertainty in workers who were informed that their jobs were safe. Analyses were done with Structural Equation Modelling. Findings: Objective threat of unemployment associated positively with perceived job insecurity. Perceived job insecurity, in turn, associated positively with strain, and it carried the relationship between objective threat of unemployment and strain (mediation). Surprisingly, we also established a direct and negative association between objective threat of unemployment and strain. Finally, no significant associations were found between situational uncertainty and perceived job insecurity, and between situational uncertainty and strain. Implications: This study contributes to the conceptual debate as to which factors are critical in the development of perceptions of job insecurity and associated strain in the context of restructurings.