JOB INSECURITY, PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG PRECARIOUS WORKERS IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

The economic crisis is one profound effect caused by the emergence of Coronavirus Disease. Many Malaysian organisations have downsized and retrenched their staff to deal with it, resulting in an increase in the number of Malaysians engaging in uncertain and unstable works as their coping strategies. As a result, psychological well- being is crucial in maintaining individual’s emotional and mental health. Previous research has focused on factors correlated with psychological well-being in Western populations; however, it remains sparse in Malaysian setting. Hence, this study aims to explore the relationship between job insecurity, perceive social support and psychological well-being among precarious workers in Malaysia. A total of 150 responses were collected through snowball and convenient sampling method, and asked to answer the WHO-5 Well- being Index Scale (WHO5), Job Insecurity Scale (JIS), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS) for this preliminary study. The findings revealed a negative correlation between job insecurity and psychological well-being, and a positive relationship between Perceived Social Support, and psychological well-being. This means that precarious employees who are insecure about their jobs are more likely to have poorer psychological well-being, whereas precarious workers who have greater social support from family, friends, and significant others are more likely to be mentally healthy. These findings can thus assist non- government, government, or practitioner policymakers in strengthening specific policies to assist precarious workers, particularly those related to their psychological well- being, such as providing them with special insurance or life benefits.