Perceived Job Insecurity of White and Black Workers: An Expanded Gap in Organizations with Layoff Prevention Commitment |
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Authors: | Song Yang Lu Zheng |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA;2. School of Sociology and Political Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, P.R. Chinayangwang@uark.edu;4. Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R. China |
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Abstract: | This study investigates the racial disparity in perceived job insecurity between black and white workers in the context of employers’ layoff prevention commitment. Using a unique employer-employee dataset combining the General Social Survey (2002) and the National Organization Survey (2002), we find that human capital indicators, job characteristics, and previous job loss are not sufficient to account for the high job insecurity perceived by black workers. Rather, an organizational commitment to avoid layoffs is a significant factor conditioning the racial disparity in perceived job insecurity. While the presence of an organizational commitment to prevent layoffs expands the racial disparity in perceived job insecurity, the absence of such a commitment to prevent layoffs attenuates such disparity. |
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