Open Access
ARTICLE
Risk the Change or Change the Risk? The Nonlinear Effect of Job Insecurity on Task Performance
Shuhong Wang1, Yipeng Tang1,*, Crystal Zhang2, Wenyue Pan1,*, Huan Liu1, Sheng Huang1
1 School of Business Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China
2 School of Marketing and Management, Coventry University, Coventry, UK
* Corresponding Authors: Yipeng Tang. Email: ; Wenyue Pan. Email:
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2019, 21(2), 45-57. https://doi.org/10.32604/IJMHP.2019.010744
Abstract
Job insecurity has been recognized for its negative effect on employee
performance. Nevertheless, this study argues that, under the threat of job
insecurity, employees may also be likely to seek to reduce the threat by proactively
crafting their tasks and improving performance. Drawing from the perspective of
Vroom’s expectancy theory, it is proposed that, only when job security is at
moderate level will employees expect it as possible to make such a change to
respond to the situation. Accordingly, a curvilinear mediated model is developed
that links job insecurity and task performance indirectly through task crafting, and
a two-waved time-lagged survey involving 328 employees was conducted to test
the model. The results showed that job insecurity had an inverted U-shaped
relationship with task crafting and that this relationship was moderated by
strengths-based psychological climate, a measure of how employees feel their
strengths are appreciated in the organization. In this sense, strengths-based
psychological climate can enhance the positive relationship between job insecurity
and task crafting. Overall, the finding suggests that job insecurity may not always
be detrimental. Thus, there will be significant managerial implications in creating
favorable conditions for increased task performance.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Wang, S., Tang, Y., Zhang, C., Pan, W., Liu, H. et al. (2019). Risk the Change or Change the Risk? The Nonlinear Effect of Job Insecurity on Task Performance.
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 21(2), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.32604/IJMHP.2019.010744