Who suffers more from job insecurity? A meta-analytic review

The present meta-analysis examined the tenure, age, and gender differences in the relationship between job insecurity and its job-related and health-related consequences. A total of 133 studies, providing 172 independent samples, were included in the analysis. Our results basically replicated Sverke et al.'s (2002) meta-analytic findings with an updated methodological approach and a larger database. The main differences between our findings and Sverke et al.'s are that the negative association between job insecurity and job performance was significant and that the relationship between insecurity and job involvement was smaller in our study. The moderator analysis also indicated that: (1) the positive association between job insecurity and turnover intention was stronger among employees with shorter tenure than those with longer tenure, and was stronger among younger than older employees; (2) the negative effect of insecurity on its health outcomes was more severe among employees with longer tenure than those with shorter tenure, and was more severe among older than younger employees; (3) the relationship between insecurity and the criterion variables was similar across gender. Results are discussed with reference to Hulin's (1991) theory of job adaptation and Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt's (1984) job dependence perspective.