Table 1:
Measurement and prevalence of self-reported job insecurity in the included cohort studies
| Study (country) | Study question | Response scale | Cut-off defining high job insecurity | Prevalence of high job insecurity, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-access data sets | ||||
| ACL (US)12 | Sometimes people lose jobs they want to keep. How likely is it that during the next couple of years you will involuntarily lose your main job? | Not at all likely; not too likely; somewhat likely; very likely | Somewhat likely or very likely | 19.1 |
| BCS (UK)13 | Would you say your current job is … | Very secure; fairly secure; not very secure | Not very secure | 7.3 |
| BHPS (UK)14 | I’d like you to tell me from this card which number best describes how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with that particular aspect of your own present job | 1 = completely dissatisfied; 4 = neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; 7 = completely satisfied | < 4 | 15.0 |
| HILDA (Australia)15 | Please pick a number between 0 and 10 to indicate how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with the following aspects of your job. The more satisfied you are, the higher the number you should pick. The less satisfied you are, the lower the number. | 0 to 10 | < 5 | 13.5 |
| MIDUS (US)16 | If you wanted to stay in your present job, what are the chances that you could keep it for the next two years? | 1 = excellent; 2 = very good; 3 = good; 4 = fair; 5 = poor | ≥ 4 | 6.3 |
| NCDS (UK)17 | Would you say your current job is … | Very secure; fairly secure; not very secure | Not very secure | 10.9 |
| WLSG (US)18 | On a scale from 1 to 10, what chance do you think there is that you will lose your job completely in the next 2 years? | 1 to 10 | ≥ 5 | 17.2 |
| WLSS (US)19 | On a scale from 1 to 10, what chance do you think there is that you will lose your job completely in the next 2 years? | 1 to 10 | ≥ 5 | 16.4 |
| IPD-Work data sets | ||||
| COPSOQ-I (Denmark)20 | Are you worried about becoming unemployed? | Yes or no | Yes | 18.8 |
| COPSOQ-II (Denmark)21 | Are you worried about becoming unemployed? | To a very high extent; to a high extent; partially; to a low extent; to a very low extent | To a very high extent, to a high extent or partially | 24.9 |
| DWECS (Denmark)22 | Are you worried about becoming unemployed? | Yes or no | Yes | 17.4 |
| FPS (Finland)23 | Does your job involve a threat of layoff? | Very much; rather much; to some degree; rather little; very little | Very much, rather much or to some degree | 11.3 |
| HeSSup (Finland)24 | Does your job involve a threat of long- term unemployment? | Very much; rather much; to some degree; rather little; very little | Very much, rather much or to some degree | 12.9 |
| IPAW (Denmark)25 | Are you worried about becoming unemployed? | Yes or no | Yes | 27.5 |
| PUMA (Denmark)26 | Are you worried about becoming unemployed? | Yes or no | Yes | 12.6 |
| Still Working (Finland)27 | How secure is your present job? | Very secure; rather secure; cannot say; rather insecure; very insecure | Very insecure or rather insecure | 11.6 |
| Whitehall II (UK)28 | How secure do you feel in your present job? | Very secure; secure; insecure; very insecure | Very insecure or insecure | 40.3 |
| WOLF-N (Sweden)29 | Are you worried about becoming laid off? | Yes or no | Yes | 28.5 |
| WOLF-S (Sweden)30 | Are you worried about becoming laid off? | Yes or no | Yes | 24.4 |
Note: ACL = American’s Changing Lives, BCS = British Birth Cohort Study 1970, BHPS = British Household Panel Survey, COPSOQ = Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, DWECS = Danish Work Environment Cohort Study, FPS = Finnish Public Sector Study, HeSSup = Health and Social Support, HILDA = Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, IPAW = Intervention Project on Absence and Well-being, MIDUS = Midlife in the United States, NCDS = National Child Development Study 1958, PUMA = Danish acronym for Study on Burnout, Motivation and Job Satisfaction, WLSG = Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of Graduates, WLSS = Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of Siblings, WOLF-N = Work, Lipids, and Fibrinogen Study in Norrland, WOLF-S = WOLF Study in Stockholm.