Exploring the impact of job insecurity on employees’ well-being : a phenomenological study in the New Zealand higher education sector : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
| dc.contributor.author | Wong, Gigi | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-12-04T20:09:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-12-04T20:09:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description.abstract | In response to escalating financial challenges in the higher education sector in New Zealand, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions have undertaken significant organisational restructuring efforts. However, these initiatives, along with employees’ awareness of financial challenges, have simultaneously heightened uncertainty among the workforce, resulting in an increasing prevalence of job insecurity among employees. The purpose of this research is to analyse how employees’ lived experiences of job insecurity relate to their perceived well-being in the New Zealand higher education sector. Notably, prior research suggests job insecurity has a negative impact on employees’ well-being, but there are limited studies, particularly in the higher education sector, that explore the authentic experiences and consequential effects on perceived personal well-being. This gap is even more pronounced when it comes to using qualitative approaches to understand the perspectives of employees. Using a qualitative research approach within the interpretivist paradigm, this exploratory study aims to address this gap by exploring the multi-faced dimensions of the subjective phenomenon of job insecurity and its impacts on employees’ perceived well-being. In this study, job insecurity refers to instances in which employees feel threatened by the security of their positions because they have been notified of changes to their jobs or have observed insecurity in the workplace, which has led them to perceive potential changes to their jobs. This study employs thematic analysis of data gathered from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 17 employees experiencing job insecurity in the New Zealand higher education sector to answer the following research ques-on: How do employees’ lived experiences of job insecurity relate to their perceived well-being? Three sub-questions were also used to guide the research: 1. What are the stressors that arise from job insecurity? 2. How do the stressors of job insecurity impact the well-being of employees? 3. How do employees respond to the challenges posed by job insecurity? During thematic analysis, the theoretical frameworks of stress theory and conservation of resources theory were drawn on to derive salient themes from the empirical data. The findings present three main themes: stressors, effects on well-being, and behavioural and attitudinal responses. Within these themes, there are 12 sub-themes identified. These findings collectively support a discussion on the negative impact job insecurity has on employee well-being that existing literature and theoretical frameworks have identified, with the domino effect emerging as a major revelation. The domino effect demonstrates how the initial stress of job insecurity can trigger a cascade of negative impacts on various aspects of employee well-being. Overall, the outcomes of this research shed light on the genuine and unique experiences of employees working within the country's higher education institutions, offering valuable insights into the complex interplay between job insecurity and employee well-being. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72200 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Massey University | |
| dc.rights | The author | en |
| dc.title | Exploring the impact of job insecurity on employees’ well-being : a phenomenological study in the New Zealand higher education sector : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand | |
| dc.type | Thesis |