In a labor market characterized by growing numbers of temporary contracts and job insecurity, staying proactive regarding one’s career is crucial. Unfortunately, experiencing job insecurity tends to obstruct such proactive career behavior. In this study, we examined whether and how future work self (FWS) salience can mitigate this negative relationship, and whether there would be an optimum (intermediate) level of FWS salience. We also explored the qualitative content of participants’ FWS descriptions to examine which types of FWS would provide the best buf fer against the negative consequences of job insecurity. In a survey study among temporary employees (N = 118), we found no evidence for the negative association between job insecurity and proactive career behavior, nor for the assumed optimum of FWS salience. We did f ind that job insecurity was positively associated with proactive career behavior for those with low FWS salience, which was further supported by our exploration of FWS content. Yet, the different types of FWS did not affect the relationship between job insecurity and proactive career behavior. We conclude that, for temporary employees who experience job insecurity, a less salient FWS can be necessary for proactive career behavior. © Maarten J. van Bezouw, Jessie Koen & Judith B. Langerak.
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