Job insecurity among temporary workers: Looking through the gender lens

Based on the gender model and the life context model, the financial and domestic responsibilities and expectations associated with getting a new assignment are tested as potential gender specific moderators of the link between job insecurity and commitment, performance, and depressive moods. In a cross-sectional international questionnaire study of 1981 temporary workers’ three-way interactions between job insecurity, gender, and the moderators were tested. Expectations play a moderating role for women only, intensifying the negative relationship between job insecurity and commitment. Financial responsibility strengthened the negative relationship of job insecurity with commitment, as well as its positive relationship with depressive moods for women and men alike. Domestic responsibility plays a moderating role in the link between job insecurity and depressive moods and performance for women, aggravating depressive moods and reducing performance. For men, domestic responsibility had a buffering effect on the relationship between job insecurity and commitment.