When temporary employees are perceived as threatening: Antecedents and consequences

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the causes and consequences of permanent employees' perceptions that temporary employees are a threat to their job security. Design/methodology/approach: The underlying theme of the current research is that an important reason why temporary employees can disrupt the work environment is that permanent workers can perceive them as threatening. A survey of permanent (n = 99) and temporary employees (n = 62) was used to test hypotheses. Multiple sources were used to assess permanent employees' treatment of their temporary co-workers. Findings: Permanent employees felt more threatened when they perceived the layoff policy and motives for using t..