The Effects of Job Insecurity on Job Commitment : Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Quality of Work-Life of Airline Flight Attendants

The global pandemic (COVID-19) has adversely affected global business to the point that the very survival of airlines is at stake due to the economic downturn caused by the deteriorating travel industry environment (Donga News, 20200716). Accordingly, airlines have increased the use of their aircrafts from passenger to cargo transportation as well to survive in these difficult times. Consequently, this has resulted in a poor working environment for flight attendants due to restructuring and adjustment of flight schedules according to country’s restrictions. While, flight attendants are frontline employees, it is the customer who decides whether or not to reuse the service. Frontline workers are regarded as a tactical employees in the service-related industry and are very important because they create customer loyalty by providing service content to achieve the organization’s business goals (Karatepe & Aga, 2012). Therefore, the employment relationship of flight attendants has to be treated with care. In particular, stable employment plays a role in expanding social relations, including economic income and opportunities to design and develop a systematic life for individuals (Jahoda, 1982). This study examined the effects of job insecurity perceived by flight attendants on the quality of work-life (QWL) and job commitment. Until now, there have been no domestic studies in which negative employment relationships have dealt with positive job variables such as QWL and job commitment in research on flight attendants. To this end, an online survey was conducted on domestic flight attendants from December 3-23, 2020. A total of 245 questionnaires were distributed and 202 were found to be valid. The structural concept of the research model was a hypothesis test of the structural equation model using AMOS 20.0 with 13 questions on job security, 24 questions on QWL, and 15 questions on job commitment. It had a negative (-) effect on QWL, and it was found that the higher the perception of job insecurity in employees, the lower was the job commitment. The QWL was found to increase the intensity of job commitment in the positive (+) direction, and it was found that there was an indirect effect on the influence relationship between job insecurity and commitment. COVID-19 is changing a large part of the travel industry environment. One direct fallout of the deterioration of this industry is the increasing insecurity among airline employees. Job insecurity may result in a very negative attitude toward the job, primarily due to the anxiety in the employment relationship, such as service quality, job placement, and organizational commitment. It creates a loss of work-life balance and lowers loyalty toward the organization, which greatly reduces self-esteem for one’s job. When establishing and executing human strategies during the COVID-19 crisis and intensifying competition to maintain a stable employment relationship, a company should seek to provide employment stability to its employees rather than going in a unilateral direction or forcing an employment relationship. It is suggested that measures to improve QWL should be taken in these extraordinary times.