Introduction
Contemporary employment arrangements and mental well-being
Gender distribution of low employment quality
Welfare regime | Countries | N (Non-weighted) | Characteristics | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | |||
Earner-carer
| ||||
Denmark | 338 | 320 | Policies facilitate women´s full-time employment and continuous engagement in paid work. Female labour force participation, particularly that of mothers, is encouraged by transferring major parts of care from the home to the public sector. | |
Finland | 339 | 355 | ||
Sweden | 312 | 343 | ||
Subtotal
|
989
|
1,018
| ||
Traditional family
| ||||
Belgium | 317 | 335 | Policies support families by supporting women´s unpaid work within the home. It is presumed that women have the main responsibility for care at home and enter paid work primarily as secondary earners. | |
Germany | 659 | 527 | ||
France | 331 | 372 | ||
The Netherlands | 341 | 368 | ||
Subtotal
|
1,648
|
1,602
| ||
Southern European
| ||||
Cyprus | 72 | 66 | This policy model shows similarities with the Traditional family model, however the average social expenditure on family and children is very low [30]. | |
Spain | 345 | 296 | ||
Greece | 199 | 235 | ||
Portugal | 185 | 222 | ||
Subtotal
|
801
|
819
| ||
Market-oriented
| ||||
United Kingdom | 357 | 441 | Policies are characterized by the absence of strong state intervention to support earner-carer or traditional households. Parents have to solve problems of social care by relying on market services. | |
Ireland | 213 | 296 | ||
Subtotal
|
570
|
737
| ||
Contradictory
| ||||
Czech Republic | 338 | 301 | This policy model is characterized by emphasize on both traditional family values (a traditional division of housework) and high female participation in paid work [31]. | |
Estonia | 278 | 381 | ||
Hungary | 242 | 245 | ||
Lithuania | 102 | 190 | ||
Poland | 270 | 234 | ||
Bulgaria | 260 | 338 | ||
Slovenia | 208 | 229 | ||
Slovakia | 203 | 268 | ||
Subtotal
| 1,901 | 2,186 | ||
Total
|
5,909
|
6,362
|
Aims and hypotheses
Methods
Data
Variables
Dependent variable
Independent variables
Dimension | Proxy indicator | Source indicator(s) | Scoring |
---|---|---|---|
Employment conditions
| |||
Contract security
| Type of employment contract | Type of employment contract | 1) Permanent |
Reflects the degree of certainty of continuing work. | 2) Non-permanent | ||
Income and rights
| Income | Combination of: | 1) Sufficient household income |
Amount of pay and social rights (e.g. sickness insurance) or fringe benefits derived from employment. |
(no proxy for social rights and benefits available)
| a- Living comfortably on present household income? | 2) Contributory earner with insufficient household income |
b - Around how large a proportion of the household income do you provide yourself? | 3) Main earner with insufficient household income | ||
Working hours
| Employment status | Combination of: | 1) Full-time (>35hours) |
Features of the working times are working long hours, working non-fixed day shifts, weekend work, having variable daily working hours, working evenings and nights. | a- Total hours normally worked per week in main job overtime included? | 2) Part-time | |
b- How many hours would choose to work weekly? | 3) Involuntary part-time | ||
Irregular and/or unsocial working hours | Combination of: | An indicator for unsocial working hours was created, combining `working weekends´ with `working evenings/nights´. The indicator for unsocial working hours was added to indicators for `working overtime at short notice´ and `intensive working hours´, resulting in an overall indicator for irregular and/or unsocial working hours. The variables were normalised to range from 0 to 10, with 10 being the least-favourable situation (Cronbach´s alpha = 0.60). | |
a- Work involves working weekends | |||
b- Work involves working nights/evenings | |||
c- Have to work overtime at short notice | |||
d- Intensive working hours | |||
Employability
| Training | Having been on a course for work during the last 12months? | 1) No |
Reflects the capability of maintaining employment in the future. | 2) Yes | ||
Employment relations
| |||
Representation
| Representation | Regular meetings between representatives of the employees and employers, in which working conditions and practices can be discussed? | 1) No |
Having a collective voice (e.g. the presence of a trade union). | 2) Yes | ||
Empowerment
| Participation | Possibility for employees to influence policy decisions? | The variable ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 being the least-favourable situation. |
Practices regarding employee participation in problem solving and decision making. |
Control variables
Statistical analyses
Results
Descriptive results
Traditional family | Southern European | Contradictory | Earner-carer | Market-oriented | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
n = 3,044 | n = 2,785 | n = 870 | n = 811 | n = 965 | n = 938 | n = 340 | n = 355 | n = 852 | n = 980 | |
DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS
| ||||||||||
Poor mental well-being
1
| 3.3 (1.9) | 3.6 (2.1) | 2.8 (1.7) | 3.4 (1.8) | 3.4 (2.1) | 3.6 (2.1) | 3.1 (1.7) | 3.4 (1.7) | 3.2 (2.0) | 3.8 (2.1) |
Age
| ||||||||||
15-29 years old | 15.2 | 16.5 | 14.2 | 19.2 | 25.2 | 17.7 | 14.3 | 13.1 | 22.4 | 16.5 |
30-49 years old | 53.8 | 53.4 | 62.6 | 58.2 | 48.6 | 54.3 | 52.9 | 52.6 | 50.2 | 54.9 |
50-65 years old | 31.0 | 30.1 | 23.2 | 22.6 | 26.2 | 27.9 | 32.8 | 34.3 | 27.4 | 28.6 |
Education
| ||||||||||
Low | 11.2 | 12.1 | 42.0 | 36.5 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 11.3 | 7.5 | 22.8 | 21.8 |
Medium | 55.1 | 51.9 | 26.6 | 22.9 | 69.6 | 57.2 | 47.6 | 40.9 | 36.5 | 31.6 |
High | 33.7 | 36.1 | 31.4 | 40.6 | 23.5 | 38.0 | 41.1 | 51.6 | 40.8 | 46.6 |
Children living at home
| ||||||||||
0 | 50.9 | 47.7 | 47.0 | 46.8 | 44.1 | 37.5 | 51.9 | 49.7 | 51.4 | 41.8 |
1 | 19.2 | 24.2 | 20.7 | 26.1 | 28.2 | 29.0 | 18.8 | 18.4 | 18.6 | 26.2 |
≥ 2 | 29.9 | 28.1 | 32.3 | 27.1 | 27.6 | 33.5 | 29.3 | 31.9 | 30.1 | 32.0 |
Single parent
| ||||||||||
No | 97.5 | 89.3 | 99.2 | 91.4 | 97.9 | 86.9 | 97.4 | 91.8 | 96.0 | 86.5 |
Yes | 2.5 | 10.7 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 2.1 | 13.1 | 2.6 | 8.2 | 4.0 | 13.5 |
EMPLOYMENT QUALITY
| ||||||||||
Type of contract
| ||||||||||
Permanent | 88.0 | 88.1 | 80.8 | 78.1 | 79.2 | 79.1 | 92.0 | 88.8 | 92.4 | 88.6 |
Non-permanent | 12.0 | 11.9 | 19.2 | 21.9 | 20.8 | 20.9 | 8.0 | 11.2 | 7.6 | 11.4 |
Income
| ||||||||||
Sufficient income | 87.9 | 88.1 | 79.0 | 79.6 | 72.4 | 67.8 | 95.4 | 94.9 | 91.3 | 82.0 |
Contr. earner, insuf. inc. | 2.9 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 12.5 | 10.4 | 19.4 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 9.8 |
Main earner, insuf. inc. | 9.2 | 6.4 | 16.7 | 7.8 | 17.2 | 12.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 8.2 |
Employment status
| ||||||||||
Full-time | 92.1 | 60.6 | 94.3 | 77.7 | 95.7 | 88.7 | 90.6 | 71.7 | 89.8 | 55.3 |
Part-time | 4.5 | 33.5 | 2.0 | 13.9 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 23.3 | 6.4 | 40.1 |
Involuntary part-time | 3.5 | 5.9 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 6.9 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.7 |
Irregular/unsocial hours
1
| 3.8 (2.6) | 2.6 (2.2) | 3.7 (2.5) | 2.7 (2.2) | 4.1 (2.3) | 2.8 (2.1) | 3.5 (2.3) | 2.6 (1.9) | 4.0 (2.6) | 2.5 (2.3) |
Lack of training
| ||||||||||
No | 48.4 | 50.0 | 35.0 | 35.0 | 27.6 | 32.9 | 65.5 | 73.9 | 50.0 | 52.2 |
Yes | 51.6 | 50.0 | 65.0 | 65.0 | 72.4 | 67.1 | 34.5 | 26.1 | 50.0 | 47.8 |
Lack of representation
| ||||||||||
No | 59.2 | 58.2 | 44.2 | 41.9 | 50.1 | 55.5 | 72.6 | 80.1 | 67.1 | 74.1 |
Yes | 40.8 | 41.8 | 55.8 | 58.1 | 49.9 | 44.5 | 27.4 | 19.9 | 32.9 | 25.9 |
Lack of participation
1
| 6.0 (3.3) | 6.2 (3.2) | 5.7 (3.2) | 5.9 (3.2) | 7.4 (3.0) | 7.4 (3.0) | 4.8 (3.0) | 4.8 (2.9) | 5.5 (3.2) | 5.8 (3.1) |
QUALITY OF INTRINSIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORK TASK
| ||||||||||
Low skill discretion
1
| 3.8 (2.2) | 4.3 (2.3) | 4.9 (2.2) | 5.5 (2.3) | 4.6 (2.2) | 4.8 (2.5) | 3.6 (2.0) | 3.7 (2.0) | 3.9 (2.4) | 3.8 (2.3) |
Low autonomy
1
| 4.3 (2.7) | 4.7 (2.6) | 5.6 (2.5) | 5.8 (2.4) | 6.0 (2.9) | 5.9 (2.8) | 3.7 (2.3) | 3.9 (2.1) | 4.9 (2.7) | 5.1 (2.3) |
High psy. demands
1
| 5.4 (3.0) | 5.5 (3.1) | 5.3 (2.8) | 5.3 (3.0) | 4.1 (2.6) | 4.2 (2.7) | 5.3 (2.7) | 5.7 (2.9) | 5.5 (2.8) | 5.9 (3.0) |
Lack of support
| ||||||||||
No | 97.5 | 92.3 | 96.3 | 93.5 | 95.3 | 94.3 | 98.6 | 98.6 | 97.3 | 95.9 |
Yes | 2.5 | 7.7 | 3.7 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 4.1 |
Lack of career opportun.
1
| 5.4 (3.0) | 6.2 (3.1) | 4.9 (2.6) | 5.4 (2.6) | 5.8 (2.6) | 6.1 (2.6) | 5.3 (2.6) | 5.5 (2.7) | 4.5 (2.7) | 4.9 (2.8) |
Relation between work-related characteristics and poor mental well-being
Employed men | Employed women | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Interaction Model 4 | |
Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | |
Intercept
| 2.057 (0.183)*** | 1.646 (0.184)*** | 1.358 (0.191)*** | 2.481 (0.197)*** | 2.036 (0.204)*** | 1.847 (0.210)*** | 1.458 (0.150)*** |
Employment quality
| |||||||
Non-permanent contract | −0.110 (0.075) | −0.090 (0.074) | −0.069 (0.077) | −0.103 (0.076) | −0.130 (0.074) | ||
Contributory earner with insufficient household income | 0.696 (0.125)*** | 0.674 (0.123)*** | 0.907 (0.095)*** | 0.819 (0.094)*** | 0.651 (0.126)*** | ||
Main earner with insufficient household income | 0.922 (0.080)*** | 0.801 (0.079)*** | 1.224 (0.103)*** | 1.117 (0.103)*** | 0.806 (0.080)*** | ||
Irregular and/or unsocial hours | 0.053 (0.010)*** | 0.046 (0.010)*** | 0.072 (0.013)*** | 0.066 (0.013)*** | 0.055 (0.010)*** | ||
Part-time | 0.109 (0.126) | 0.134 (0.124) | 0.228 (0.068)*** | 0.215 (0.067)*** | 0.138 (0.127) | ||
Involuntary part-time | 0.182 (0.133) | 0.227 (0.131) | 0.221 (0.111)* | 0.159 (0.110) | 0.202 (0.135) | ||
Lack of training | 0.033 (0.053) | −0.012 (0.052) | −0.130 (0.057)* | −0.186(0.057)*** | −0.048 (0.053) | ||
Lack of representation | 0.297 (0.051)*** | 0.198 (0.051)*** | 0.169 (0.055)** | 0.080 (0.056) | 0.203 (0.052)*** | ||
Lack of participation | 0.023 (0.008)** | 0.010 (0.009) | 0.029 (0.009)*** | 0.010 (0.010) | 0.009 (0.009) | ||
Quality of intrinsic characteristics of the work task
| |||||||
Low skill discretion | 0.033 (0.012)** | 0.030 (0.012)* | 0.049 (0.013)*** | 0.047 (0.013)*** | 0.039 (0.009)*** | ||
Low autonomy | 0.007 (0.010) | −0.004 (0.011) | 0.028 (0.011)** | 0.012 (0.012) | 0.004 (0.008) | ||
High psychological demands | 0.106 (0.009)*** | 0.096 (0.009)*** | 0.065 (0.009)*** | 0.053 (0.009)*** | 0.074 (0.006)*** | ||
Lack of co-workers support | 0.407 (0.127)*** | 0.348 (0.126)** | 0.298 (0.111)** | 0.236 (0.110)* | 0.294 (0.082)*** | ||
Lack of career opportunities | 0.107 (0.009)*** | 0.095 (0.009)*** | 0.085 (0.010)*** | 0.074 (0.010)*** | 0.084 (0.007)*** | ||
R
2
| 0.062 | 0.074 | 0.099 | 0.061 | 0.045 | 0.080 | 0.090 |
Interactions
c
| |||||||
Women* main earner with insufficient household income | 0.270 (0.125)* |
Comparison between welfare regimes
Traditional family | Southern European | Contradictory | Earner-carer | Market-oriented | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
(n = 3,044) | (n = 2,785) | (n = 870) | (n = 811) | (n = 965) | (n = 938) | (n =340) | (n = 355) | (n = 852) | (n = 980) | |
Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | Beta (S.E.) | |
Intercept
| 1.589 (0.238)*** | 1.593 (0.273)*** | 1.354 (0.321)*** | 2.569 (0.343)*** | 1.149 (0.455)* | 1.351 (0.516)** | 0.585 (0.561) | 1.037 (0.590) | 0.463 (0.468) | 1.874(0.490)*** |
Employment quality
| ||||||||||
Non-permanent contract | −0.405(0.115)*** | −0.213 (0.122) | 0.090 (0.159) | −0.092 (0.158) | 0.198 (0.171) | 0.027 (0.185) | 0.266 (0.339) | −0.215 (0.294) | 0.173 (0.242) | 0.091 (0.208) |
Contributory earner with insufficient household income | 0.974 (0.203)*** | 1.069 (0.172)*** | −0.397 (0.291) | 0.704 (0.199)*** | 0.595 (0.226)** | 0.670 (0.189)*** | 0.917 (0.844) | 1.843 (0.665)** | 1.027 (0.434)* | 0.438 (0.226) |
Main earner with insufficient household income | 0.984 (0.119)*** | 1.386 (0.164)*** | 0.248 (0.161) | 1.096 (0.250)*** | 0.598 (0.187)*** | 0.480 (0.221)* | 1.657 (0.468)*** | 0.658 (0.519) | 1.267 (0.261)*** | 1.227 (0.251)*** |
Irregular and/or unsocial hours | 0.042 (0.015)** | 0.068 (0.020)*** | 0.038 (0.024) | 0.052 (0.030) | 0.038 (0.029) | 0.075 (0.035)* | 0.009 (0.041) | 0.036 (0.050) | 0.074 (0.026)** | 0.085 (0.032)** |
Part-time | 0.064 (0.167) | 0.077 (0.094) | 0.820 (0.409)* | 0.813 (0.189)*** | −0.044 (0.540) | 0.239 (0.335) | −0.009 (0.385) | 0.208 (0.222) | 0.410 (0.273) | 0.204 (0.152) |
Involuntary part-time | 0.337 (0.189) | 0.023 (0.167) | 0.272 (0.307) | 0.383 (0.233) | 0.607 (0.402) | 0.372 (0.273) | −0.543 (0.480) | −0.324 (0.425) | −0.346 (0.344) | 0.193 (0.326) |
Lack of training | 0.022 (0.073) | −0.275 (0.083)*** | −0.059 (0.133) | −0.037 (0.140) | 0.010 (0.157) | 0.017 (0.165) | 0.175 (0.192) | 0.029 (0.214) | −0.198 (0.140) | −0.060 (0.144) |
Lack of representation | 0.137 (0.071) | 0.090 (0.081) | 0.250 (0.119)* | −0.078 (0.132) | 0.264 (0.143) | −0.047 (0.143) | 0.135 (0.200) | −0.188 (0.227) | 0.180 (0.144) | 0.430 (0.154)** |
Lack of participation | 0.006 (0.012) | 0.012 (0.014) | −0.043 (0.023) | −0.013 (0.024) | 0.042 (0.028) | 0.029 (0.028) | 0.067 (0.033)* | 0.052 (0.034) | 0.042 (0.026) | 0.017 (0.025) |
Quality of intrinsic characteristics of the work task
| ||||||||||
Low skill discretion | 0.036 (0.018)* | 0.058 (0.020)** | 0.000 (0.029) | −0.022 (0.032)* | 0.025 (0.034) | 0.042 (0.034) | 0.071 (0.049) | 0.070 (0.052) | 0.026 (0.032) | 0.068 (0.034)* |
Low autonomy | −0.009 (0.016) | 0.038 (0.017)* | 0.072 (0.031)* | 0.007 (0.034) | −0.032 (0.030) | −0.018 (0.029) | 0.039 (0.045) | 0.012 (0.046) | −0.061 (0.032) | −0.039 (0.033) |
High psychological demands | 0.076 (0.012)*** | 0.045 (0.013)*** | 0.048 (0.023)* | 0.060 (0.022)** | 0.118 (0.027)*** | 0.082 (0.026)** | 0.134 (0.034)*** | 0.084 (0.033)* | 0.198 (0.023)*** | 0.046 (0.024) |
Lack of co-workers support | 0.521 (0.175)** | 0.319 (0.151)* | −0.699 (0.308)* | −0.513 (0.261)* | 0.492 (0. 309)* | 0.688 (0.292)* | 0.600 (0.721) | 0.506 (0.764) | 0.475 (0.398) | 0.204 (0.335) |
Lack of career opportunities | 0.094 (0.013)*** | 0.076 (0.014)*** | 0.099 (0.023)*** | 0.083 (0.026)** | 0.109 (0.029)*** | 0.124 (0.029)*** | 0.056 (0.037) | 0.085 (0.036)* | 0.087 (0.026)*** | 0.015 (0.026) |
R
2
| 0.096 | 0.094 | 0.109 | 0.116 | 0.114 | 0.101 | 0.197 | 0.143 | 0.175 | 0.086 |
Interaction model 4
c
|
Traditional family
|
Southern European
|
Contradictory
|
Earner-carer
|
Market-oriented
| |||||
Women* contributory earner with insufficient household income | 0.956 (0.344)** | |||||||||
Women* main earner with insufficient household income | 0.773 (0.283)** | |||||||||
Women* lack of training | −0.224 (0.106)* | |||||||||
Women* lack of representation | −0.360 (0.173)* |