Meaning-Making of Job Insecurity and Its Implications for Employee Performance: A Schutzian Phenomenological Study at Universitas Antakusuma

Abstract

Job insecurity is a subjective experience related to employment continuity and certainty regarding valued job features. This study aimed to analyze the meaning-making of job insecurity through prior experiences associated with the formation of a project of action, or the because motive, the projected state that constitutes the purpose of action, or the in-order-to motive, and its implications for employee performance at Universitas Antakusuma. The study used a qualitative method with Alfred Schutz’s social phenomenological approach. The informants comprised three educational staff members and two lecturers. Primary data were collected through interviews, supported by observation and documentation. The data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, conclusion drawing and verification, and phenomenological interpretation. The findings showed that the experiences of educational staff were related to employment continuity, employment status, relationships with supervisors, and family responsibilities. The lecturers’ experiences were related to assignment certainty, incentives, teaching workload, and institutional recognition. Prior experiences were associated with the formation of projects of action, while action orientations included employment continuity, capacity development, alternative employment, recognition, and assignment certainty. The implications for work included increased effort, caution, adjustment, skill development, reduced work effectiveness, increased burden on primary job duties, disruption to teaching activities, and work impediments. Some informants also experienced stress, anger, psychological pressure, and psychological states that they perceived as unstable. The findings demonstrate the relationship among subjective meaning-making, the structure of action motives, and experiences in carrying out work among the informants.