Job insecurity and employees' attitudes: the moderating role of fairness

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between both job insecurity and fairness and employees' attitudes (job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention). Moreover, of even greater interest, it aims to test whether fairness mitigates the negative correlates associated with job insecurity. Design/methodology/approach The aproach takes the form of a cross‐sectional study based on self‐reported data. The sample was composed of 697 employees from a Spanish public organisation. Findings The findings showed that job insecurity is detrimental to employees' attitudes, whereas fairness is beneficial. Moreover, the results showed the negative correlates of job insecurity to be less strong in the presence of fairness. Research limitations/implications First, this is a cross‐sectional study, and therefore no causal relationships can be assumed. Second, the study is based on self‐reported data, which could lead to common variance source and method problems. Practical implications Job insecurity is a widespread concern in contemporary societies. Thus, research on how to palliate its negative correlates is valued. This study suggests fairness judgements might buffer the negative correlates associated with job insecurity. Originality/value Previous research has shown job insecurity to be detrimental to both individuals and organisations (e.g. job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention). Nonetheless, differences observed across studies in the strength of these relationships suggest the presence of moderating factors. The study provides evidence on the moderating role of fairness judgements.