Job Security Stress-Reduction Response
RCTReview
Job seekers undergoing competitive pre-employment evaluations face high stress due to employment uncertainty, which can impair test performance and recruitment outcomes. Providing guaranteed safety-net employment options mitigates anxiety, enabling applicants to perform significantly better during job selection tests.
Picture this
Imagine taking a high-stakes driving test while knowing that if you fail, you immediately win a free bicycle as a backup transport option. Because you are no longer terrified of walking home empty-handed, your nerves calm down and your hands stop shaking on the steering wheel. That reduction in stress helps you stay focused and pass the driving test with ease.
What the evidence says
Standardized training test scores strongly predict competitive hiring, with a 1 standard deviation score increase yielding a 9.7 percentage point higher hiring likelihood (R² = 0.357). High probabilistic job guarantees caused candidates to perform significantly better on training assessment tests due to reduced job-uncertainty stress.
- Who was studied
- N = 268 male youth job seekers (aged 18+, secondary school educated) in Lilongwe, Malawi.
- How
- Stratified Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluating pre-employment test scores across probabilistic outside job guarantee options (0% to 100%).
What to do
Implement guaranteed baseline employment safety nets during competitive hiring filters to eliminate anxiety-driven underperformance among candidates.
From the source
"Godlonton (2020) shows that a possible pathway for this behavior is a stress response: individuals with more secure outside options were able to perform better due to reduced stress related to job uncertainty."
b23e842f-67cd-47d7-9b15-b6b6c8e557a2-Employment Exposure- Employment and Wage Effects in Urban Malawi.pdf