The Influence of Job Insecurity on Task and Contextual Performance: The Mediational Role of Overall Job Attitude

Job insecurity, that is the perceived threat of losing the current job, has become an increasing concern for organizations in the last decade mainly due to uncertain economic conditions and global competition. In this study, we intend to examine in particular the mechanisms through which job insecurity affects work performance, a criterion of central interest to management scholars. Drawing on the compatibility principle in attitude theory, we proposed that overall job attitude (job satisfaction and affective commitment) predicts behavioural criteria in response to job insecurity. In particular, relying on social exchange theory and rational choice theory two predictions were compared: job insecurity can be an harmful stressor with negative strain reactions (behavioural withdrawal, low performance) or a challenge stressor that motivates employees to engage actively in actions coping with the threat (higher performance). A sample of 570 Italian employees were used to test the hypotheses derived from our framework. Results from structural equations provided support for the social exchange model, showing the negative influence of job insecurity (as hindrance stressor) on task and contextual performance, i.e., in-role and extra-role behaviours.