The role of time in the relation between perceived job insecurity and perceived job performance.

Most participants did not fear job loss: only 12.2 percent reported job insecurity at baseline, and only 4.1 percent were chronically insecure over two years. The sample was mostly male, older, and highly educated, and workers with temporary contracts or changed work situations were excluded, so it may not apply to younger, female, less educated, or precarious workers. The study was conducted in the Netherlands, where permanent contracts and dismissal protections may make perceived job insecurity lower than in other settings. Job insecurity and performance were self-reported by the same workers, so shared reporting bias may affect the associations. Only one two-year follow-up was available, so shorter-term fluctuations and other durations of job insecurity could not be examined. Because participants were still employed many years later, a healthy worker effect cannot be ruled out.

The author declared no competing interests. The data were drawn from the Maastricht Cohort Study, conducted by Maastricht University.

Do not read the productivity finding as proof that job insecurity causes reduced productivity. The study measured self-reported associations in a mostly stable Dutch workforce, and chronic job insecurity did not predict core task performance or productivity loss.