The Effect of Job Insecurity on Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Resilience and Organizational Social Support
Keywords:
Job insecurity, mental health, resilience, organizational social support, employees, qualitative researchAbstract
This study aimed to explain employees’ experiences of the effects of job insecurity on mental health and to identify how resilience and organizational social support may modify this relationship. This qualitative study employed a descriptive–interpretive design. The participants were 24 employees working in public, semi-public, and private organizations in Tehran, Iran, who were selected through purposive maximum-variation sampling. Eligibility criteria included at least one year of work experience and a perceived experience of job insecurity during the preceding six months. Data were collected exclusively through individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews lasted between 45 and 78 minutes, were audio-recorded with informed consent, and were transcribed verbatim. Theoretical saturation was reached after the twenty-first interview, followed by three additional interviews to confirm saturation. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis using NVivo 14. Credibility and dependability were strengthened through member checking, independent coding, peer review, maintenance of an audit trail, and maximum variation in participant selection. Five main categories were identified: “job insecurity as a continuous and unpredictable threat,” “psychological distress and depletion of health resources,” “spillover of insecurity into occupational identity, family life, and job performance,” “resilience as a limited but developable personal shield,” and “organizational social support as an institutional buffer.” Participants described anticipatory anxiety, rumination, sleep disturbances, irritability, feelings of worthlessness, impaired concentration, social withdrawal, and family conflict. Emotional regulation, cognitive reappraisal, problem-solving, professional skill development, and realistic hope were identified as resilience-related resources. Transparent managerial communication, procedural justice, supervisor support, coworker solidarity, and employee participation in decisions reduced the perceived severity of insecurity and its psychological consequences. Job insecurity is not limited to fear of job loss; rather, it is a cumulative stress process that undermines perceived control, professional identity, and psychological safety. Resilience and organizational social support can buffer its adverse mental health consequences. Nevertheless, individual resilience should not be used to normalize precarious employment or substitute for structural organizational reforms. The most effective response involves combining employee-level resilience development with transparent communication, organizational justice, participatory management, and accessible psychological support.
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