Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Patrick D. Converse
Second Advisor
Richard L. Griffith
Third Advisor
Liana Kreamer
Fourth Advisor
Renée Nicole Souris
Abstract
The quality of one’s work has important implications for well-being and behavior. Prior research on this issue has examined perceptions of current working conditions or potential future working conditions but little is known about how these two sets of perceptions may come together to influence employees’ psychological and behavioral outcomes. This research examines this issue, focusing on decent work (DW) and job insecurity (JI). By integrating perspectives from the psychology of working theory (PWT), cognitive appraisal theory, and the job-demands resources model (JD-R), this dissertation examines how current and future-oriented aspects of work quality jointly shape employees’ experiences at work. This research makes four main contributions. First, I conceptually and empirically examine the extent to which DW and JI are separate constructs and suggest why they should be studied in combination. Second, I examine whether DW and JI interact when predicting work-related outcomes. Third, I examine whether future-oriented coping dispositions influence the strength of the JI moderation in a potential 3-way interaction. Fourth, I extend the DW literature to include the work-related behaviors of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). To examine these issues, I developed four surveys to assess employed individuals and administered them in four waves across a two-week period (Wave 1; N = 750). The hypotheses and research question were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. Results indicated that DW, quantitative JI, and qualitative JI are separate constructs. In addition, DW predicted need satisfaction, work fulfillment, and work performance through a parallel-serial mediation chain; however, the direct linkages varied across constructs within the multivariate framework. There was limited evidence of moderation, but the interaction findings were consistent with the buffer hypothesis outlined within JD-R. Finally, there were limited conditional indirect effects, suggesting that the implications of DW are not strongly influenced by JI or coping dispositions. Theoretically, this research adds to our understanding of DW by integrating JI, coping dispositions, and performance-related work behaviors within the PWT framework. Practically, this research may help leaders better understand the influence of both DW and JI on key work-related experiences and behaviors, potentially informing work design.
Recommended Citation
Hesson, Zachary, "Decent Today, Uncertain Tomorrow: Linking Decent Work, Job Insecurity, Employee Experiences, and Performance" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 1631.
https://repository.fit.edu/etd/1631