Consumers after the crisis: towards new models of consumptions?

Economic studies have considered the impact of job insecurity on savings and consumption, but they have tended to overlap the subjective perception of job insecurity and the condition of temporary work (i.e., fixed-term contracts = job insecurity). On the other hand, psychological studies have introduced the distinction between ’objective’ (referred to temporary employment) and ’subjective’ job insecurity (referred to the way individuals perceive and experience their situation), but they have mainly focused on organizational (commitment in one’s organization, job satisfaction, ) and personal (health, well-being,) outcomes, paying less attention to their influence on extra - organizational variables (such as family/life projects and consumption). This paper aims to explore some of the extra-organizational outcomes (such as consumers’ behaviours and life projects) of job insecurity, both in terms of subjective perception and in terms of objective condition. In particular, this study seeks (a) to analyze the relationship between contract (temporary vs. permanent work) and (subjective) job insecurity; and (b) to explore the effects of job insecurity (both subjective and objective) on extra-organizational contexts. Results derive from secondary analysis of two databases: 1) a tracking study conducted with quantitative surveys repeated every three months with representative samples (1000 subjects per wave) of Italians, in order to study the relationship between temporary employment and job insecurity; 2) a survey carried out on a large sample (n=2717) of Italian workers, in order to explore the relationship between job insecurity and individuals’ daily economic behaviours (such as buying groceries, apparels, cosmetics or entertainment) and life projects (such as buying a home, marrying or having children). Results shows that while these two dimensions (perception of job insecurity and fixed-term work contract) are clearly connected, they appear to differ and do not directly coincide: a regression between work contract (i.v.) and job insecurity (d.v.) accounts for an important but minor share of variance. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that (subjective) job insecurity works as a mediator between permanent/temporary employment and specific extra-organizational behaviours (i.e.: sacrifices to both daily consumptions and life projects). The implications of this study are discussed, both from a theoretical and a pragmatic perspective.