Is occupation insecurity associated with conspiracy views? A test of parallel mediation through political powerlessness and relative deprivation

We examine the association of a novel form of insecurity (occupation insecurity) with three societal attitudes: the belief in conspiracy views, political powerlessness and relative deprivation. This answers the call in the literature to extend studies on work-related insecurity by broadening its conceptualization and extending its associations with a broader set of outcomes. Next, we explore whether the association between occupation insecurity and conspiracy views is mediated by both societal attitudes: political powerlessness and relative deprivation. The study took place during the Covid crisis in 2020. Consequently, all variables were framed in the context of this crisis. Cross-sectional data gathered via an online survey among 1324 employed wage and salary earners in Flanders (Belgium) are used to test the hypotheses. The data were analysed using the PROCESS macro, testing for parallel mediation. All direct effect hypotheses were corroborated by the analyses. The indirect effect of occupation insecurity on conspiracy views was only significant for political powerlessness, and not for relative deprivation, suggesting political powerlessness to be a more important explanatory variable than relative deprivation. The findings suggest occupation insecurity to have important societal and political correlates. Some suggestions to reduce the negative outcomes of occupation insecurity are discussed.