When uncertainty strikes: how job insecurity elicits workplace anxiety and distinct behavioral responses

Purpose This study aims to investigate how job insecurity shapes employees' maladaptive coping responses. Drawing on appraisal theory, we develop a theoretical model proposing that job insecurity elicits workplace anxiety, which in turn increases cyberloafing and reduces help-seeking behavior, with individuals' regulatory focus as a key boundary condition governing the strength of the sequential mechanism. Design/methodology/approach A three-wave, one-month time-lagged survey was conducted among 321 full-time employees in China. Mediation and moderation hypotheses were tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro with bootstrapping procedures. Findings Workplace anxiety mediated the relationships between job insecurity and the two coping responses by increasing cyberloafing and reducing help-seeking behavior. Moreover, promotion focus attenuated the negative association between anxiety and help-seeking, whereas prevention focus amplified the positive association between anxiety and cyberloafing. Practical implications Organizations should reduce job insecurity through transparency and predictable evaluation systems, while offering emotion-regulation support. Tailored management practices can discourage avoidance and promote constructive engagement. Originality/value Integrating appraisal theory with regulatory focus theory, this study advances job insecurity research beyond traditional stress–strain perspectives by identifying workplace anxiety as a key mechanism linking job insecurity to employees' maladaptive coping responses. Furthermore, this study elucidates the pivotal role of regulatory focus is shaping how employees cope with workplace anxiety.