ABSTRACT
The chapter examines with a theoretical discussion of job insecurity and how it can be considered a violation of the psychological contract. The exit, voice, loyalty framework is described in order to understand how these alternatives can be used to cope with job insecurity. The chapter discusses how this framework relates to union membership before presenting the results. The empirical investigations are based on data from a sample of nurses in a Swedish health care organisation undergoing downsizing. After reporting findings, the chapter draws conclusions from the data and point to implications for both unions and management. The chapter examines if unionised and non-unionised employees who experience job insecurity also differ in terms of how they cope with this employment uncertainty. It provides a typology of job insecurity and union membership and presents mean values in exit, voice, and loyalty for insecure members, secure members, insecure non-members, and secure non-members.
