Job insecurity and employee innovative behavior: The mediating role of work engagement

Abstract

Rapid technological change and evolving employment conditions have intensified perceptions of job insecurity among employees, which in turn may weaken the discretionary effort and psychological readiness needed for innovative behavior. Drawing on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and leadership style theory, this study examines the relationship between job insecurity and employee innovative behavior in Chinese companies, while also investigating the mediating roles of work engagement and transformational leadership. Survey data were collected from 252 Chinese employees and analyzed using SPSS and the PROCESS macro. The findings show that job insecurity is a significant negative predictor of innovative behavior, suggesting that employees who feel uncertain about the continuity or stability of their jobs are less likely to invest effort in generating, promoting, or implementing new ideas. Job insecurity also negatively predicts work engagement, and work engagement was found to mediate the relationship between job insecurity and innovative behavior. This result indicates that insecurity undermines employees’ levels of vigor, dedication, and absorption, which subsequently reduces their innovative contribution at work. In contrast, transformational leadership did not mediate the relationship between job insecurity and innovative behavior. However, it exerted a significant positive direct effect on innovative behavior. These findings imply that sustaining innovation requires organizations to reduce insecurity through supportive employment practices, clear communication, and resource provision, as leadership development alone may not be sufficient to neutralize the adverse innovation-related consequences of job insecurity.