Job insecurity, work‐induced mental health deprivation, and timely completion of work tasks

To unpack the relationship between employees’ job insecurity and their timely completion of work tasks, this study proposes a mediating role of beliefs about work‐induced mental health deprivation and a moderating role of religious faith. Three‐wave survey data from Pakistan‐based workers and supervisors in the banking industry indicate a critical reason that an unstable job situation diminishes the chances that employees finish work activities on time: their convictions that the employer compromises their mental health. Religious faith mitigates this harmful effect, through diminished work‐induced mental health deprivation, such that the impact on work activities is weaker among employees who can draw from their religious beliefs. For human resource managers, this study highlights a salient risk for employees who worry about their future in the organization and make the situation worse by failing to meet deadlines; it also reveals some options to mitigate this risk by leveraging employees’ pertinent personal resources.