Explaining the relationship between job insecurity and creativity

Purpose Despite a large body of literature on the negative consequences of job insecurity, one outcome – job creativity – has received relatively scant attention. While initial studies established a relationship between job insecurity and creativity, the explanatory mechanisms for this relationship have yet to be fully explored. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Using threat-rigidity theory and broaden-and-build theory as a conceptual foundation, the authors implemented a two-country temporally lagged research design (the USA ( n = 390); China ( n = 346)) to test two potential mediating mechanisms – cognitive failures and positive job-related affect – as explanatory variables between quantitative and qualitative forms of job insecurity and self- and other-rated measures of creative performance. Findings Results from both countries suggest that job-related affective well-being and employee cognitive failures both explained the relationship between job insecurity and creative performance. However, affective well-being was a better explanatory variable for the relation between job insecurity and self-rated creative performance, whereas cognitive failures better accounted for the relationship between job insecurity and performance on an idea generation task. Research limitations/implications The authors discuss the implications of these findings from measurement, theoretical and practical perspectives. Originality/value The authors extend prior research on the relationship between job insecurity and creativity by: considering both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, examining their relationships with both self- and other-rated assessments of creative job performance, and testing cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms explaining these relationships.