Dimensions of Job Quality, Mechanisms, and Subjective Well‐Being in the United States

Abstract

, and the UNC Inequality workshop for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. 2 AbstractHow does job quality predict subjective well-being in the United States? Prior research suggests that various job quality dimensions such as job security and individual task discretion affect subjective well-being, but the theoretical mechanisms are implied rather than tested and aspects of job quality are rarely tested together. I use structural equation modeling and General Social Survey data to assess the impact of five job quality dimensions-individual task discretion, monetary compensation, job security, low work intensity, and safe work conditions-on subjective well-being. Then, I show that job quality influences subjective well-being by improving social life, altering class identification, affecting physical health, and increased amount of leisure time. Finally, while I find that job quality dimensions do have statistically significant effects on subjective well-being, the way in which job quality affects subjective wellbeing differs by job dimension. In other words, job quality has a statistically significant impact on subjective well-being, but different job quality domains are connected to subjective wellbeing in different ways.Keywords: work, job quality, subjective well-being, happiness 3 Dimensions of Job Quality, Mechanisms, and Subjective Well-Being in the United StatesHow does job quality predict subjective well-being in the United States? American adults spend more time at work than in any other activity (Hermanowicz 2010), and the effects of work often spill over into other life domains (Settersten Jr. 2003). Thus, scholars have long suggested the importance of job quality to happiness (Green 2006;Jencks, Perman, and Rainwater 1988;Kalleberg 2011). However, the theoretical mechanisms connecting job quality to subjective wellbeing are implied rather than tested, and there are very few studies showing how a single job quality dimension matters in the presence of other job quality characteristics. While there is a general assumption that job quality leads to greater subjective well-being, we have surprisingly little evidence to prove it.The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the how different job quality dimensions predict subjective well-being via multiple potential mechanisms. I first estimate the effect of individual task discretion, monetary compensation, job security, low work intensity, and safe work conditions on subjective well-being. Then, I show that social life, higher class identification, better physical health, and greater leisure time mediate the relationship between various job quality dimensions and subjective well-being. As a result, the present analysis provides stronger evidence for the importance of "good job" characteristics, as each job quality dimension has a statistically significant effect on subjective well-being but is mediated by a different set of mechanisms. The Multi-Dimensional Nature of Job QualityWhat makes for a "good job"? Scholars note that experiences at wo...

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“…As Hermanowicz (2010) demonstrates, individuals spend an extraordinary amount of time at work, and thus our jobs affect us in a variety of different ways. Jobs help structure our social lives, affect our health, impact our happiness, and place limits on our free time (Horowitz 2016). In theory, as individuals obtain more education, they should obtain better jobs and therefore have better social outcomes.…”

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“…41,42 Finally, job insecurity has also been linked to SRH in American, Swiss, and British studies. 6,13,21,43 Although there is less empirical evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to reduce job insecurity in improving health, some strategies have been suggested as ways to reduce the exposure or reduce vulnerability. 5 Examples include training programs to broaden workers' skill sets or facilitate return to work from injury or illness or incorporating financial planning resources into employee assistance programs.…”

“…Proposed mechanisms for this relationship include physiologic, psychological, and behavioral processes. Horowitz 6 describes multiple aspects of job quality (task discretion, monetary compensation, job security, low work intensity, and safe work conditions) that are associated with subjective wellbeing, through pathways that include physical health and other mediators. Specific theories proposed to explain associations between work characteristics and health have included the job demand-control, 7 job demandcontrol-support, 8 effort-reward, 9 and organizational justice models.…”

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“…In short, by bringing generativity into the discussion of the dimensions and outcomes of job quality (Horowitz, 2016), and by linking this analysis to classic earlier studies, this paper makes a valuable contribution to the sociology of work. It demonstrates yet again why it is important for workers to have opportunities to engage in intrinsically rewarding work (Gallie, 2013).…”