The current systematic literature review aimed to analyse the associations between temporary agency work (TAW), job satisfaction, and mental health in Europe, as well as to outline a future research agenda. Twenty-eight scientific articles were identified by searching different data bases (i.e. PSYNDEX, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) for the time span from January 2000 to December 2016. Our review reveals first that TAW is not consistently negatively related to job satisfaction. However, job insecurity and working conditions are important mediators in the relation of TAW and lowered job satisfaction. Second, TAW is not consistently related to all investigated types of mental health impairments. However, when focusing on specific outcomes and comparing temporary agency workers to permanent employees, we still find consistent evidence regarding higher levels of depression and fatigue among temporary agency workers. Inconsistent associations between TAW, job satisfaction and mental health can partly be attributed to unfavourable methodological aspects of the included primary studies. To address these aspects, future research should consider applying a standard measurement of TAW, including a minimum of meaningful confounding variables, improving the operationalisation of outcome variables and the study design.

In times of digitalized workplaces the extent of challenging cognitive demands at work is rising and employees increasingly have to manage new and unlearned tasks. Yet, these work characteristics have received little attention on how they relate to the worker’s well-being. Thus, we analyze associations between cognitive work demands—also in interaction with other job characteristics—and indicators of employee well-being. The analyses are based on the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey 2018, a cross-section that is representative for the German working population and covers approximately 20,000 employed individuals. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions suggest that cognitive demands are associated with a higher probability of feeling fatigued. In contrast, the results with respect to the employees’ self-rated health status and job satisfaction are ambiguous, depending on which cognitive demand is considered. Overall, the findings indicate that cognitive demands might be related to both resource and demand, depending on the individual resources of employees.

In recent decades, the working world has changed dramatically and rising demands on flexibility make the coordination of personal and professional life more difficult. Therefore, it is important that the incumbents are in possession of all necessary information concerning their job. This might be a key issue to remain satisfied. Simultaneously, atypical forms of employment have substantially increased in the labor market; one such form is holding more than one job. While the motives might differ from needing an additional income to broadening job opportunities, practicing several jobs requires coordination and thus, being informed. Building on research regarding organizational constraints and role ambiguity, we hypothesize that the paucity of information is negatively related to (dimensions of) job satisfaction. This effect should be stronger for multiple as compared to single jobbers; specifically when considering the job satisfaction with the social climate, given that being informed by others is an important factor in the coordination of several jobs. Data taken from the BiBB/BAuA-Employment-Survey provide a sample of 17,782 German employees (54% women), including 1,084 multiple jobbers (59% women). Job satisfaction was measured as employees global satisfaction and their satisfaction with facets dimensions: the social climate, structural working conditions, personal growth opportunities, and material incentives they receive for their work. Paucity of information was measured by the frequency of lacked information. Our study indicated that paucity of information was negatively related to both, global and all facets dimensions of job satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses further revealed interaction effects of paucity of information and form of employment. Specifically, the negative correlation of paucity of information with global as well as satisfaction with the social climate was stronger for employees’ holding more than one job. These results were independent of age, gender, organizational tenure, working hours, socioeconomic occupational status, as well as important working conditions (workload and autonomy). Incumbents with less paucity of necessary job-related information are more satisfied, especially when they hold multiple jobs. Supervisors and colleagues are advised to provide all necessary information and to ensure that employees retain it.

Persistence in self-employment is crucial for entrepreneurial activities to generate longterm economic benefits. Consequently, this research examined the commitment of the self-employed towards their business as an important determinant of persistence. However, this research treats the self-employed as one entity. Yet we assume that especially for the research on commitment the differentiation of the self-employed into solo self-employed individuals (self-employed individuals without employees) and employer entrepreneurs (self-employed individuals with employees) provides seminal insights. Thus, this study examined differences in affective commitment to (emotional attachment to and identification with) one's business and its antecedents between these self-employment forms. We used data of German solo self-employed individuals (n = 117) and employer entrepreneurs (n = 103) from the European Working Condition Survey (EWCS 2010). A simple t test revealed that the solo self-employed individuals report lower levels of affective commitment to their business than employer entrepreneurs. Moreover, regression analyses revealed that satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and competence was more strongly related to affective commitment for the solo self-employed than that for employer entrepreneurs, whereas satisfaction of the need for relatedness was more weakly related among the solo self-employed than that the employer entrepreneurs. These results suggest that solo self-employed individuals and employer entrepreneurs not only differ in affective commitment to their businesses but also in their antecedents. Implications for research on motivational processes of the self-employed and for fostering persistence in self-employment are discussed.

While research on personality factors and economic success of entrepreneurs has flourished over the years, studies on their specific working conditions and their impact on health and career are surprisingly scarce. This study used a qualitative approach to comprehensively mirror the working situation of German small business owners. To reflect the broadness of this employment type and avoid sampling bias, we applied a quota sampling strategy based on a preliminary typology of solo selfemployed respondents we derived from a large quantitative survey. We investigated 29 small business owners who reported, for example, on health complaints, recovery opportunities, and obstacles and resources while running their businesses. Thematic analysis was employed to develop a specific frame model for small business owners based on established work-related stress theories which allowed us to derive concrete hypotheses for further quantitative research. The main results emphasized the meaning of active actions and the workers' own responsibility for creating working conditions and enabling autonomy. Besides personal preferences regarding the chosen career path, marketability, flexibility, and social networks played a role and explained health and career issues. When it came to practical implications, voluntariness played an essential role for selecting this specific career path. Those being pushed into self-employment as their only viable job opportunity should receive particular support through career counseling to sustain their health.