IBS Departmental Research Seminar - Long-term impacts of Engagement and Job Insecurity on Research Performance: Longitudinal Evidence from Academics

You are cordially invited to attend an IBS lunchtime research seminar by Dr Rita Fontinha Henley Business School. Please join us in Room 108, Henley Business School. If you have not received the email invite please email Angie Clark.

Please make sure you let me know in advance if you intend to attend in person so that the correct amount of catering is booked.

Title: Long-term impacts of Engagement and Job Insecurity on Research Performance: Longitudinal Evidence from Academics

Date: Wednesday 8th October 2025

Time: 13.00 – 14.15pm

Abstract:

The main aim of this paper is to understand the interplay between engagement and job insecurity and how they both will influence research performance. We have collected longitudinal survey data from academics in UK Higher Education Institutions. The first wave of data took place during the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns pandemic (March and April 2020) and the second occurred upon recovery from the pandemic (October and November 2021). We complemented this rich survey data with research performance data from Scopus, up to five years later, looking at the long-term effects of employee engagement and perceived job security during the pandemic on their research performance. Our results suggest that engagement during the pandemic did not have significant effects on research performance as it interacts with demographic variables such as having young children. However, job insecurity during the pandemic plays a major negative role on long-term research output. Given the long time it takes to publish research, this study provides relevant new evidence on the long-term effects of job insecurity on research output, with important policy implications for higher education institutions.