JOBQUAL

PSI2017-86882-R

SUMARY AND GOALS

The quality of work (TC) is an issue of special concern in Spain, especially after the financial crisis and the recession that hit the world in 2008. Although unemployment rates have been declining slowly from the 27% reached in 2013 (INE , 2013), the quality of the jobs created in Spain is a major problem. According to the OECD database on Employment Quality (2016), Spain ranks second in two of the three quality indicators used by this organization: job market security and the quality of the work environment. This is particularly important given the potential impact that TC has on the well-being and health of individuals, businesses, and communities (Findlay, Kalleberg & Warhurst, 2013).

In fact, the positive relationship between TC, on the one hand, and subjective well-being (SW) and health, on the other, has been generally supported in the literature. However, we still have a number of important gaps that we want to address with this project. First, a clear conceptualization of the TC construct and the identification of the most important TC indicators based on factors such as gender, age or individual preferences is needed (Benach et al., 2012, Findlay et al. , 2013). Second, our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the relationship between TC and SWB and health needs to be improved. Specifically, it is necessary to pay attention to both the psychological mediators that connect TC with SWB and health (eg, job insecurity) (Benavides & Delclos, 2005; De Bach et al., 2008), and the moderators that may help to explain the differential consequences of TK (eg, perceived employability) (eg Benach et al., 2000; Knox et al., 2011). Third, there is a lack of systematic research on the history of TC, beyond a few studies on some occupational and demographic factors (Gallie, 2013, Vidal, 2013). We think that it is important to pay attention to the potentially modifiable personal antecedents that contribute to obtaining high-quality jobs, such as employability (González-Romá, Gamboa & Peiró, 2016). Finally, most TC research has relied on static between-subject approaches. However, individuals' work trajectories are dynamic, especially in constantly changing labor markets. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate a dynamic perspective in the study of CT through intra-subject longitudinal designs (Benau et al., 2012; Kauhanen & Nätti, 2015.)

In order to fill these gaps, the overall objective of this research project is to test a dynamic model on the antecedents and consequences of TC that takes a person-centered approach. Based on a multidimensional conceptualization of TC, we propose that: 1) changes in TC over time are related to changes in BS and health; 2) this dynamic relationship is mediated by two psychological mechanisms ('work engagement' and perceived job insecurity), and 3) gender, age, centrality of work, personal preferences, and perceived employability play a moderating role in the aforementioned relationships. Finally, we propose that improving personal employability can contribute to improving TK.

• Marija Davcheva (PhD Universidad de Valencia, contratada 2019-2023)
• Jesús Yeves Gómez (Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez de Santiago de Chile, Chile)
• Jeffrey R. Edwards (the University of North Carolina, USA)
• Beatrice Van der Heijden (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands)
• Pascale Le Blanc (Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands)
• Berrin Erdogan (Portland State University, USA)
• Carmen Picazo Lahiguera (Departamento de Psicología, de la Universidad Loyola Andalucía, España)
• Juan P. Gamboa Navarro (Orkestra-El Instituto Vasco de Competitividad de la Fundación de la Universidad de Deusto, España)

• Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness

• Funding: Project Grant PSI2017-86882-R funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and by ERDF A way of making Europe.