Examining the Impact of Two Dimensions of Precarious Employment, Vulnerability and Insecurity on the Self-Reported Health of Men, Women and Migrants in Australia

Abstract

Precarious employment is increasing and adversely affects health. We aimed to investigate how perception of precariousness in current employment impacts gender and migrant workers in Australia. Using cross-sectional interviews of 1292 workers born in Australia, New Zealand, India and the Philippines, data were collected on self-reported health, employment conditions and sociodemographics. Factor analysis of nine questions about perceptions of current employment revealed two dimensions, vulnerability and insecurity. Women had higher vulnerability scores (µ = 6.5 vs. µ = 5.5, t = 5.40, p-value (p) < 0.000) but lower insecurity scores (µ = 8.6 vs. µ = 9.3 t = −4.160 p < 0.0003) than men. Filipino-born workers had higher vulnerability compared with other migrant workers (µ = 6.5 vs. µ = 5.8 t = −3.47 p < 0.0003), and workers born in India had higher insecurity compared with other migrant workers (µ = 9.8 vs. µ = 8.9, t = −6.1 p < 0.0001). While the prevalence of insecurity varied by migrant status, the negative effect on health was higher for Australian-born workers than migrants. Increasing levels of vulnerability and insecurity impacted self-reported health negatively (Coefficient (Coef).0.34 p < 0.0001; Coef.0.25 p < 0.0001, respectively). The combination of high vulnerability and high insecurity had the greatest impact on health (Coef. 2.37 p = 0.002), followed by high vulnerability and moderate insecurity (Coef. 2.0 p = 0.007). Our study suggests that understanding both changes in employment conditions over time as well as knowledge of cultural patterns may offer the best chance of understanding the impact of precarious employment experiences.

The Impact of Mandate Contract and Self-Employment on Workers’ Health—Evidence from Poland

“…Job insecurity has been identified as a major pathway linking non-standard forms of employment with negative health outcomes, and meta-analyses have confirmed the significant associations between them [42][43][44][45]. This correlation is also confirmed by the latest research: the perceptions of insecurity in current employment and the dimension of precarious employment are strongly associated with poorer self-reported health [46].…”

Are There Ethnic Disparities in Exposure to Workplace Hazards Among New Zealand Migrants to Australia?

“…Job precariousness was assessed using two dimensions, vulnerability and job insecurity, in line with a previous factor analysis of the 9 items used, which confirmed the existence of a 2-factor structure aligning with these dimensions. 18 Vulnerability was measured using five items adapted from the Employment Precariousness Scale. 19 These items measured feelings of being replaceable at work; fear of being fired; being treated in a discriminatory or unjust way; inability to voice concerns about unsafe work practices; and feeling defenseless toward unfair treatment.…”

Perceptions of health and coping strategies among temporary migrant workers in East and Southeast Asia: a systematic review

“…Although the marginalization of migrant workers and associated health impacts are well recognised within the literature [ 22 , 38 – 40 ], most of the published research focused on the intersection of temporary migration and health has been conducted in Europe [ 41 , 42 ], Australia [ 43 , 44 ] and Canada [ 45 – 49 ]. This systematic review adds to that body of work by analyzing how migrant workers in the East and Southeast Asian regions conceptualize their health and strategies for coping with the impacts of temporary migration.…”