A note on job insecurity worries in the context of an MBA questionnaire survey design

A note on job insecurity worries in the context of an MBA questionnaire survey design

With regard to my MBA dissertation research theme of "the influence of AI usage on the project team employees' worries on job insecurity in ABC telecom company, I would like conduct a questionnaire survey to my company's colleagues. I am not familiar with the topic of "worries" on job insecurity from the perspective of psychology and not sure how to formulate 1 to 2 questionnaire survey questions on this topic, notably using the five-point rating scale in this case. Could you give me some concept clarification and advice?

In psychology, job insecurity worry is usually the emotional/affective side of job insecurity, meaning the employee’s fear, anxiety, or concern about possible job loss or reduced role value in the future. In your dissertation, this fits well if you want to measure not only whether people think AI may affect their job, but also whether that possibility makes them feel uneasy.

Concept clarification

Job insecurity is often treated as having two parts. The cognitive part is the person’s judgment that their job may be threatened, while the affective part is the feeling of worry, fear, or anxiety about that threat.
For your topic, “worries” should therefore be framed as an emotional response to AI-related uncertainty, not as a technical evaluation of AI itself.
That distinction helps you avoid writing items that mix up “I think AI may change my work” with “I feel worried about what that means for my job”.

How to phrase items

For a questionnaire, it is usually better to write items that are:

·        Simple and specific.

·        About the respondent’s own feelings.

·        Focused on the future.

·        Neutral enough to avoid sounding accusatory or too dramatic.

A five-point agreement scale is suitable here, for example:

1.    Strongly disagree.

2.    Disagree.

3.    Neither agree nor disagree.

4.    Agree.

5.    Strongly agree.

Possible items

You could use these two items:

1.    “I feel worried that increased AI use in my company may affect the security of my job.”

2.    “When I think about AI being used more in my company, I feel anxious about my future job prospects.”

These items capture the emotional worry aspect directly, which is consistent with how job insecurity is commonly described in the literature as fear, alarm, or anxiety about future job loss.
If you want a slightly more conservative wording, you can replace “anxious” with “concerned,” which is often easier for survey respondents to answer honestly.

Practical advice

Because you are studying AI usage, it is best not to make the item too broad. “AI usage” could mean automation, decision support, monitoring, or customer service tools, and these may affect employees differently.
So your item should ideally link AI to the respondent’s own job security perception, rather than asking generally whether AI is “good” or “bad”.
Also, two items are acceptable for a small dissertation survey, but if possible, three to four items usually give you a more reliable measure than just one or two.

Suggested final wording

If you want a clean, thesis-friendly version, I would recommend:

·        “I feel worried that the increased use of AI in my company may threaten my job security.”

·        “I feel anxious about my future job prospects because of the increasing use of AI in my company.”

These are directly aligned with the emotional dimension of job insecurity discussed in the literature.

 

Suggest two related academic references

Here are two key academic references that directly support the distinction between cognitive and affective (worry-based) job insecurity, as well as validated questionnaire items using Likert scales for the affective dimension.

1.    Chirumbolo, A., Callea, A., & Urbini, F. (2025). The assessment of job insecurity: Dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the Multidimensional Job Insecurity Questionnaire – Revised (MJIQ-R). Economic and Industrial Democracy, 46(3), 742-765.
This paper validates a 16-item scale with affective items like "I fear losing my job" and "I am worried about not being able to keep my job," ideal for five-point agreement scales in your AI-job insecurity context.

2.    Pienaar, J., De Witte, H., Hellgren, J., & Sverke, M. (2013). The cognitive/affective distinction of job insecurity: Validation and differential relations. Southern African Business Review, 17(2), 1-22.
This study clarifies the affective component as "feelings and fears" about job loss, with empirical validation of scales distinguishing worry from mere perception, and links it to outcomes like emotional exhaustion.

 

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