Gender, Flexicurity and Job Security: Determinants of Job Security in 19 Countries

• In Event: 186 - Section on Social Psychology Refereed Roundtable Session (cosponsored with Section on Sociology of Emotions)
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 03. Macro Structural Impact on Individual Cognition

Abstract

“Flexicurity”, the balance between flexibility and security, is a flagship labor market policy promoted by the European Commission since the middle of 2000s. One of the main ideas behind flexicurity is to achieve a shift from job security to employment security, but there are still few research focus on the gender inequality on job security perception. Also, while prior research involved worker’s job security perception usually focus on the effects of flexicurity policy factors (EPL and ALMP), this study first address the influence of welfare state policy on worker’s security perception. Using hierarchal linear modeling and data for 19 countries from the 2005 ISSP Work Orientations Survey supplemented with national indicators developed from a variety of sources, this study finds security perception is associated with labor market institutions (Employment Protection Legislation and Labor Market Polices), worker attributes (being more educated, being order, having employed spouses, being union member), and job characteristics (working par-time, being civil servant). However, it is surprising that it shows negative influences on job security and employment security perception, which suggest a reverse effect of the assumption, though which are not significant. These results seem counter intuitive, and worthy to be further examined in the future research. However, welfare state index is significantly and positively related to lower job-loss worry, suggesting higher extent of welfare state intervention is beneficial to decrease job-loss worry.

Author

• Szu Ying Ho, City University of New York-Graduate Center