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The present study investigates longitudinal relationships between job insecurity and a set of work, career, and life outcomes. Using an integrative theoretical framework that combines the principles of conservation of resources and sustainable career development, we aim to unravel the scope and dynamics of stressor-strain pathways that undermine employee well-being in these domains. To that end, latent curve modelling with structured residuals was performed on a large heterogeneous sample (N = 1134) of individuals living and working in Switzerland. Based on seven annual measurement points, the results revealed yearly within-person dynamics through which job insecurity may hinder sustainable well-being in different areas of life. Furthermore, our findings allow for contrasting short-term (yearly) versus long-term (7-year) effects. They uncover potential protective mechanisms through which between-person differences in the initial levels of sustainable well-being resources might mitigate the risks of being increasingly exposed to job insecurity over time, as reflected in within-person growth patterns. Research, policy, and practical implications are discussed based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have explored the effects of trait regulatory focus on routine performance and proactive behaviour yet failed to reveal the underlying motivational mechanisms and investigate how these effects may operate in uncertain environments. To fill this gap, our study first draws upon regulatory focus theory to examine the motivational mechanisms linking trait regulatory focus with routine performance and challenge‐seeking behaviour (i.e., a type of proactive behaviour). We hypothesize that trait prevention focus improves routine performance but reduces challenge‐seeking behaviour via avoidance motivation, whereas trait promotion focus increases routine performance and challenge‐seeking behaviour through approach motivation. Incorporating trait activation theory, we further theorize that uncertainty that threatens individuals' security needs (i.e., quantitative job insecurity) strengthens trait prevention focus effects, while uncertainty that threatens individuals' growth needs (i.e., qualitative job insecurity) weakens trait promotion focus effects. Analysing two‐wave data from 275 employees and 58 supervisors, we found that (a) trait prevention focus had an unconditional positive indirect effect on employee self‐reported routine performance via increased avoidance motivation and (b) trait promotion focus had positive indirect effects on employee self‐reported and supervisor‐rated routine performance and challenge‐seeking behaviour via enhanced approach motivation, with these effects stronger at lower levels of qualitative job insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training, accounting for perceived employability. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that job insecurity negatively relates to the willingness to participate in training to strengthen the internal and external labor market position and that perceived employability has a buffering effect on this relationship. The hypotheses were tested among 560 Belgian employees using structural equation modeling. The results did not provide support for the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the position inside the organization. We did, contrary to expectations, find a significant positive relationship with the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the position outside the organization. Furthermore, the relationship between job insecurity and the willingness to undertake training to strengthen the external labor market position was weaker with increasing levels of perceived employability.

While a considerable number of studies have focused on factors driving employees to voluntarily participate in training programs, much less is known on this topic with regard to the unemployed population, in particular the older unemployed, who often are in a vulnerable labor market position due to educational deficits and skills obsolescence. This study proposes and investigates a serial mediator model of older unemployed individuals' training intentions grounded in propositions from social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior as well as prior models of employee involvement in training. The results, based on cross-sectional questionnaire data from 176 unemployed Portuguese individuals aged 40+, suggest that age, education, and proactivity have an indirect effect on training intentions via learning self-efficacy and training-related outcome expectations. Age was also directly related to stronger training intentions. These results may be useful for interventions aiming to encourage older unemployed individuals' participation in training.

Boredom at work occurs in the context of low demands and resources and can have a host of negative outcomes for employees. However, the existing literature is lacunary concerning the mechanisms underlying the link between boredom and its negative outcomes. Based on the concept of tedium, this study examines the link between boredom at work and burnout, with a particular attention to the possibility of indirect effects. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 452 adults working in Switzerland. Our study's results showed that the link between boredom at work and exhaustion was mediated by cynicism, representing a disengagement from work. These findings are discussed based on the conservation of resources theory and several practical implications for organisations are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burnout poses severe health‐related and financial risks. However, valid and reliable measurement of this occupational phenomenon has been impeded by the conceptual, psychometric and pragmatical shortcomings of the extant burnout instruments. The Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) is a new measure of burnout that was developed to overcome these deficiencies. The purpose of this study was to validate the Croatian version of its short form, BAT‐12, using a representative sample of the Croatian working population. To do so, we examined the factor structure and measurement invariance of BAT‐12 across gender, age, and occupational type, as well as convergent and discriminant data on BAT‐12 vis‐à‐vis an alternative burnout measure, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, job resources, job demands and job outcomes. The results obtained on online survey data from 966 employees supported the hierarchical structure of BAT‐12, although with slight modifications. We also found comparable loading structure across age, gender, and occupational type, whereas the intercept invariance depended on the moderator. Convergent and discriminant validity was supported in relation to all examined variables. Therefore, the psychometric soundness of the Croatian version of BAT‐12 adds new evidence to the current validation process of the BAT‐12 and supports the application of this measure on the Croatian working population. Practitioner points: Extant validation studies support the psychometric soundness of the new measure of burnout (Burnout Assessment Tool; BAT) which was developed to overcome crucial shortcomings of the previous burnout measures.This study adds to the current validation process of BAT by examining the psychometric properties of its short version (BAT‐12) using a nationally representative sample of the Croatian working population.The results support the usage of the BAT‐12 not only for academic research purposes, but also for practical purposes of the assessment of risks for employee safety and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]