Do cognitive appraisals moderate the link between qualitative job insecurity and psychological-behavioral well-being?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to detect the association between qualitative job insecurity and well-being related outcomes and to determine the extent to which cognitive appraisals of job insecurity moderate this association. According to appraisal theory, it is anticipated a hindrance appraisal of job insecurity to amplify and a challenge appraisal of job insecurity to buffer this association. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, 250 healthcare employees from different departments of an Iranian large public hospital were recruited. Participants responded to scales on qualitative job insecurity, cognitive appraisals, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, absenteeism and presenteeism. Findings Results showed that qualitative job insecurity negatively influenced both psychological and behavioral well-being; however, this influence was greater for psychological well-being than for behavioral well-being. Besides, the moderation tests showed that only the hindrance appraisals of job insecurity amplified the link between job insecurity and psychological outcomes. Research limitations/implications This study sampled employees from a public hospital and did not include employees from private hospitals. This may limit the generalizability of the findings. Also, due to using a cross-sectional research design we encourage future studies to replicate the same findings using other different research designs. Practical implications The findings aid occupational health psychologists to design particular interventions for protecting those aspects of employee’s well-being that are more vulnerable when qualitative job insecurity is chronically perceived. Originality/value Together, these findings suggest that the hindrance appraisals of qualitative job insecurity are more likely to moderate the link between job insecurity and well-being outcomes.