Quantitative and Qualitative Dimensions of Job Insecurity in Greek Public Sector

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to investigate the levels of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity of employees of the Electronic Unified Social Security Institution (e-EFKA), the largest public insurance organization in Greece, and their correlation with specific demographic and labour factors. The high rates of job insecurity highlighted by our empirical research are obviously directly related to the multitude of job changes experienced by public sector employees, due to the Greek economic crisis, as well as the implementation of the three Greek Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies. The results of the survey challenge the stereotypical perception of absolute job security for public sector employees, as it was found that the participants exhibit high levels of anxiety, which are not only associated with the degradation of specific aspects of their employment conditions (qualitative insecurity), but also with the possibility to loose their job itself (quantitative insecurity).