Employee health and presenteeism: The challenge for human resources management

This chapter examines the theoretical and empirical evidence for the proposition that employee job insecurity can have detrimental effects on worker safety attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes. It delineates the possible mechanisms by which job insecurity is expected to adversely affect safety outcomes. The results of several recent empirical tests of these propositions will be presented. The chapter is devoted to an exploration of potential organizational strategies for prevention. Researchers in the area of job insecurity have traditionally focused primarily on delineating the attitudinal, behavioral, and job-related consequences of such insecurity, but have largely ignored safety as a potential outcome. A more recent comprehensive review of more than 90 studies found evidence of consistent adverse associations between precarious employment, job insecurity, and occupational safety outcomes such as injury rates, safety knowledge, and safety compliance. Burgard et al reported that the negative health effects of job insecurity were on a par with the health effects of a serious or life-threatening illness.