How Job Changes Affect People's Lives Evidence from Subjective Well-Being Data

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research at DIW BerlinThis series presents research findings based either directly on data from the German SocioEconomic Panel study (SOEP) or using SOEP data as part of an internationally comparable data set (e.g. CNEF, ECHP, LIS, LWS, CHER/PACO). SOEP is a truly multidisciplinary household panel study covering a wide range of social and behavioral sciences: economics, sociology, psychology, survey methodology, econometrics and applied statistics, educational science, political science, public health, behavioral genetics, demography, geography, and sport science.The decision to publish a submission in SOEPpapers is made by a board of editors chosen by the DIW Berlin to represent the wide range of disciplines covered by SOEP. There is no external referee process and papers are either accepted or rejected without revision. Papers appear in this series as works in progress and may also appear elsewhere. They often represent preliminary studies and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be requested from the author directly.Any opinions expressed in this series are those of the author(s) and not those of DIW Berlin.Research disseminated by DIW Berlin may include views on public policy issues, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. AbstractFor representative German panel data, we document that voluntary job switching is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, though only for some time, whereas forced job changes do not affect life satisfaction clearly. Using plant closures as an exogenous trigger of switching to a new employer, we find that job mobility turns out to be harmful for satisfaction with family life. By investigating people's lives beyond their workplaces, our study complements research on the well-being impact of labour mobility, suggesting some positive welfare effects of flexible labour markets, but also a previously undocumented potential for negative implications.JEL Classification: I31; J28; J61; J63

Income support, employment transitions and well-being

“…In addition, we find evidence for positive roles of income and enlarging social networks in workers’ well-being, as well as for a honeymoon effect of starting a new job ( Chadi and Hetschko, 2020 ). Visits to a doctor decrease well-being in either test.…”

“…Here, we add further controls concerning occupational changes between the two points in time. In particular, job mobility (new job: NEWJOB , see Chadi and Hetschko, 2020 ) and changes in working hours (Δ HOURS , see Rätzel, 2012 ; Wunder and Heineck, 2013 ) might alter well-being and could thus confound the genuine effects of switching between subsidized and regular employment. We also control for changes in work strain due to a change of occupation, Δ STRAIN .…”

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health and Subjective Well-Being of Workers: An Event Study Based on High-Frequency Panel Data

“…While Kurzarbeit prevents severe income losses, it might be perceived as an early sign of increased job insecurity, which generally translates into declines in mental health and life satisfaction (Luechinger et al, 2010;Reichert & Tauchmann, 2017). As in other contexts (Chadi & Hetschko, 2021), however, working fewer hours benefits leisure satisfaction (Table A 10).…”

Overqualification as Moderator for the Link Between Job Change and Job Satisfaction Among Immigrants and Natives in Germany

“…Judge et al, 2017;Judge et al, 2020). In addition, studies have examined the extent to which job satisfaction changes over time after turnovers (Bentein et al, 2005;Chadi & Hetschko, 2015Kammeyer-Mueller et al, 2005;Zhou et al, 2020). Boswell et al (2005) focused on the connection of job changes with job satisfaction and found a curvilinear relationship which was called the "honeymoonhangover"-pattern: After the change, job satisfaction typically peaks at first -the honeymoon period -before it gradually falls back to the baseline level -the hangover period.…”