Does employee resilience work? The effects of job insecurity on psychological withdrawal behavior and work engagement

PurposeThe onset of a health crisis has substantially crippled the hotel industry, causing employees' fears of an imminent job loss. This study investigates how hotel employees' perceived job insecurity affects work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of work engagement between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior, along with examining the moderating effects of employee resilience on the links between job insecurity, work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.Design/methodology/approachAdopting simple random sampling, a total of 357 completed questionnaires by Thai frontline hotel employees in 36 four- and five-star international hotel chains in Phuket, Thailand, were analyzed. Data analyses were undertaken by SPSS version 25.0 and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) version 4.0.9.1.FindingsResults indicate that perceived job insecurity diminishes work engagement and leads to psychological withdrawal behavior. Work engagement is found to partially mediate the connection between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, employee resilience lessens the impact of job insecurity on work engagement while reinforcing the link between work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.Practical implicationsThe study findings offer valuable practical implications, illustrating how Thai hospitality firms can cultivate effective talent management practices to develop and enhance employees' skills, engagement and enthusiasm in their work. These practices can assist employees in coping with and managing their perceptions of job insecurity during turbulent times and uncontrollable crises.Originality/valueThis study creates a compelling framework to elucidate the connections among COVID-19-intensified job insecurity, work-related outcomes and personal factors. It introduces a previously underexamined perspective that enriches the authors' theoretical comprehension of how personal resources, like employee resilience, serve as protective factors, shaping employee behavior and performance amidst job insecurity. Moreover, the study advocates for a synthesizing approach, emphasizing the integration of various theoretical perspectives and past literature, particularly when research gaps cannot be sufficiently addressed by a single theory.