Job security refers to the assurance of maintaining employment even in spite of extenuating circumstances. It can be difficult to attain, however, and a lack of job security can effect everything from job performance to one's health.

Features

Some of the features that create job security for an employee include a steady salary, health and dental benefits in addition to paid time off for holidays, vacation and sick days. Job security provides a sense of confidence that an employer and position will be there down the road as long as the employee performs the required tasks.

Cause

During times of economic stress in a region, job security is less attainable. For instance, when the global economy was buried in recession in 2008 and 2009, the unemployment rate in the U.S. soared into double digits and even the most profitable companies, including technology giant Google, were not immune from making job cuts.

Effects

The effects tied to a lack of job security can be damaging to one's health. Chronic job insecurity, for instance, leads to stress, anxiety and depression. It can become a greater predictor of poor health than smoking or hypertension, according to Sarah Bugard, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, cited in LiveScience.

Employee Satisfaction

As the U.S. economy began to crawl out of recession in 2009, fewer workers felt secure about their employment situation. Only 50 percent of employees were satisfied with their level of job security as of August 2009, representing the lowest percentage of satisfied workers in six years, according to a Gallup poll.

Types

Some professions lend themselves to more job security than others because they service segments of the economy where demand remains robust even in the midst of an economic recession. Some of these jobs include registered nurses, air traffic controllers and public school teachers.

Source:

ZDNet UK: Google Announces Sales,Marketing Job Cuts

LiveScience: Job Insecurity Worse for Your Health Than Unemployment

Gallup: Job Security Slips in U.S. Worker Satisfaction Rankings

Resource:

U.S. News & World Report: 7 Jobs for Job Security In a Recession