Work-related learning and job insecurity: A conceptual and empirical approach

This PhD dissertation consists of two parts, each with a different focus and approach. Part 1 focuses on job insecurity using a within-person design. The contemporary labour market is characterized by an increase in competition and technological advancement and, as a result, feelings of job insecurity are becoming increasingly common. Feelings of job insecurity are not static but fluctuate over time. Job insecurity is, in other words, a dynamic construct. This has two important implications: First, this calls for more research into within-person changes rather than between-person differences. Second, it suggests abandoning the static antecedent-consequence way of thinking and focus more on how variables reciprocally influence each other over time. Consequently, the first objective of this dissertation is to provide more insight into the occurrence of within-person cycles in job insecurity over time. This was investigated in two studies. In the first chapter, we examined the reciprocal relationship between qualitative job insecurity and the participation in work-related learning activities. The results showed that qualitative job insecurity related negatively to the participation in work-related learning activities later on and that participation in formal learning activities was related to reduced subsequent feelings of qualitative job insecurity. In the second chapter, we wanted to probe whether the within-person dynamics and reciprocity, found in Chapter 1, would also apply also to other concepts. To this end, Chapter 2 focused on the reciprocal relationship between perceived organizational change communication and quantitative job insecurity and whether this relationship could be explained by rumours. The results indicated that perceived organizational change communication and quantitative job insecurity negatively influenced each other over time, and additionally, that rumours mediated this reciprocal negative relationship. Part 2 focuses upon work-related learning from a conceptual point of view. It aims to get a better account of work-related learning in work- and organizational psychology. This was needed for two reasons: First, researchers in the field of work- and organizational psychology strongly focused on formal learning, thereby ignoring informal learning and its possible outcomes. Second, they mostly used distal variables, such as job challenge, motivation, job satisfaction, and job involvement to measure learning. These variables could be considered antecedents or outcomes of learning rather than actual engagement in learning, which implies risks of conceptual confusion. To this aim, two studies were conducted. In Chapter 3, we investigated which outcomes could be associated with informal work-related learning behaviour of employees by means of a systematic literature review. From the 35 primary studies, a wide range of informal work-related learning outcomes were identified, ranging from hands-on to abstract, short-term to long-term, or applicable to only its current job or to a broader context. In accordance with the definition of work-related learning outcomes of Matthews (1999), the outcomes were categorized into (1) changes in work-related knowledge, skills, or attitudes, (2) individuals' present optimal functioning, and (3) sustaining one's future development and career. The fourth and final chapter of this dissertation concerned the development and validation of an instrument that measures participation in work-related learning activities. The results showed that three factors could be distinguished, namely formal learning activities, informal learning activities using personal sources, and informal learning activities using environmental sources. The results further indicated that the developed instrument is reliable and valid for measuring work-related learning.

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Toegankelijkheid:Closed