Impact of Job Insecurity on Psychological Well- and Ill-Being among High Performance Coaches

Marte Bentzen, Göran Kenttä, Anne Richter and Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre
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Marte Bentzen: Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Life Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, 0806 Oslo, Norway
Göran Kenttä: Department of Performance and Training, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, 11433 Stockholm, Sweden
Anne Richter: Department of Performance and Training, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, 11433 Stockholm, Sweden
Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre: Department of Sport and Social Science, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, 0806 Oslo, Norway

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: Background: The evaluative nature of high performance (HP) sport fosters performance expectations that can be associated with harsh scrutiny, criticism, and job insecurity. In this context, (HP) sport is described as a highly competitive, complex, and turbulent work environment. The aim of this longitudinal, quantitative study was to explore whether HP coaches’ perceptions of job insecurity and job value incongruence in relation to work would predict their psychological well- and ill-being over time. Methods: HP coaches ( n = 299) responded to an electronic questionnaire at the start, middle, and end of a competitive season, designed to measure the following: job insecurity, values, psychological well-being (vitality and satisfaction with work), and psychological ill-being (exhaustion and cynicism). Structural equation model analyses were conducted using Mplus. Results: Experiencing higher levels of job insecurity during the middle of the season significantly predicted an increase in coaches’ psychological ill-being, and a decrease in their psychological well-being at the end of the season. However, value incongruence did not have a significant longitudinal impact. Conclusions: These findings cumulatively indicate that coaches’ perceptions of job insecurity matter to their psychological health at work. Consequently, it is recommended that coaches and organizations acknowledge and discuss how to handle job security within the HP sport context.

Keywords: high performance coaches; job insecurity; values; psychological health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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