Abstract

The current study investigated employees’ weekly responses to job
insecurity. Based on appraisal theory, it was postulated that employees
may adopt three coping strategies in response to job insecurity (i.e.,
remaining silent, adapting, or being proactive) in order to maintain or
improve their weekly well-being. We introduced a multilevel moderated
mediation model, explaining how weekly job insecurity would be related
to well-being in the following weeks through these three behaviors. A 5-
week diary study of 149 subordinates partially supported the model. The
results showed two main contributions. First, employees are not passive
responders to perceived job insecurity, but active shapers through
coping depending on the context. Second, subordinates’ emotional
regulation strategy and supervisors’ prosocial motivation, as trait
variables, impact on how subordinates respond to perceived job
insecurity over weeks. From a practical point of view, the dynamic
nature of perceived job insecurity suggests implications for interventions
to maintain subordinates’ well-being