Job Insecurity and Precarious Employment as Psychosocial Risk Factors in Contemporary Society

Dear Colleagues,

Contemporary society is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty pervading many aspects of everyday life. The recent global recession has further exacerbated these feelings of uncertainty worldwide. Individuals with precarious employment and insecure jobs are particularly more likely to suffer from this situation, especially those with lower skills and education. A vast body of literature has highlighted that being precarious or perceiving one's own job as at risk have detrimental outcomes on well-being of both individuals and organizations. Precarious employment is often associated with job dissatisfaction and poor health. Similarly, workers with higher levels of subjective job insecurity have poorer mental and physical health: for instance, they tend to report higher levels of distress, burnout, sadness, depression, anxiety, life dissatisfaction, negative emotions, and display more somatic complaints. Likewise, subjective job insecurity also has a negative impact on job attitudes and organizational behavior. Workers with higher subjective job insecurity have less job satisfaction, less work engagement, less organizational commitment and identification, and a worse job performance both in-role and extra-role (e.g., less organizational citizenship behavior, more counterproductive work behavior). Job-insecure and precarious employees are more likely to be victims of workplace bullying and discrimination and suffer from more economic inequality. From this perspective, subjective job insecurity and precarious employment are becoming increasingly important psychosocial risk factors in contemporary societies. Papers addressing these and other related topics are invited for this Special Issue, especially those with a high academic standard combining theoretical and practical implications providing solutions for policy makers, individuals, and organizations focused on coping with the consequences of jobs at risk and precarious employment. 

Dr. Antonio Chirumbolo
Prof. Dr. Antonino Callea
Dr. Flavio Urbini
Guest Editors

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