Proactive coping

There are various ways to deal with job insecurity. You can, for example, try to do something about it after you hear that you are losing your job. We call this reactive. You can also think about your career before there is cause for stress and insecurity. We call this proactive coping.

'Proactive coping is a relatively new concept and refers to efforts to avoid a stressful situation or reduce its impact. In a work context, for example, this may involve building a supportive social network, figuring out future scenarios or having a conversation with your manager. You can also make a career plan or focus on developing specific skills.'

Excessive stress

But as long as you have a job, there isn’t really a problem, is there? It is a bit more complicated than that, explains Langerak: 'Job insecurity isn’t just about losing your job, it’s also about certain features of your work being at stake. For example, flexible working hours, your tasks or your salary.' And that insecurity can have major consequences: 'Actually, it bears all the hallmarks of excessive stress. People feel less well both physically and mentally and have problems sleeping. Their work-life balance is at risk, and they often perform less well at work. In the long run, this gives rise to more absenteeism and higher turnover in a team.'

Perseverance pays

Reason enough, therefore, to try to prevent or reduce that job insecurity. Taking action even before your job becomes insecure appears to be effective but does require patience: 'My research shows that it’s really important to persevere. Initially, coping with job insecurity in a proactive way can lead to more stress, but in the long run it has positive effects. It makes people think about possible changes in the future. Initially, that creates more insecurity. But after a few months of people regularly working on their careers, we do see positive effects: participants feel less insecurity and stress around keeping their jobs.'

Tips for employees

Having researched this topic extensively, Langerak is happy to share some tips. 'Clearly, the positive effects of proactive coping take time. So don't get discouraged in the early stages; hang on in there.'

'Also, make sure you prepare yourself in small steps; don't do too much all at once. Building a network or making a plan takes time. Another tip therefore is: start early. It’s a good idea to start thinking about your future even when you’re still quite happy in your work. That way, you’re relaxed and you have more opportunity to think proactively because you don’t yet feel an immediate threat.

Tips for employers

Since job insecurity can also be detrimental to employers, Langerak has advice for them too. 'Offer people support and career guidance throughout their careers, not just when their jobs are at stake. By that time, people are often already under too much pressure to be able to reflect effectively on their careers. When that happens, it’s no longer about talent development or finding a job that suits someone, it’s about finding whatever job you can get to pay the bills. If people are given the opportunity to find a job that suits them well, both employees and organisations will ultimately reap the rewards.'

Some companies already offer this kind of guidance, but it is not going well everywhere: 'We often see organisations only offering guidance to people in senior positions. Even though people in lower positions, who often have a smaller network and a smaller financial safety net, actually need the guidance more. The likelihood of job insecurity, and therefore excessive stress, is especially high among these people.'

Finally, a fairly straightforward tip: 'don't force your employees to proactively think about their careers. In our study, we saw that if people are not intrinsically motivated, it has little effect in terms of stress. So it’s good to motivate and support employees, but they ultimately have to do the work on their own.’

Judith Langerak's defense ceremony will take place on June 19 at 1 p.m. in the Agnietenkapel in Amsterdam. The ceremony can be followed live.