Labor Market Trajectories and Health: A Four-Year Follow-up Study of Initially Fixed-Term Employees

Abstract

With the growth of atypical employment, there is increasing concern about the potential health-damaging effects of unstable employment. This prospective study of Finnish public-sector employees in 1998-2002 examined labor market trajectories and changes in health. At entry, all participants had a fixed-term job contract. Trajectories were measured by exposure to unstable employment during follow-up, destination employment status at the end of follow-up, and the way in which these elements were combined. Nonoptimal self-rated health at baseline was associated with high exposure to unstable employment and unemployment as the destination. After adjustment for health and psychological distress at baseline, a trajectory with stable employment as the destination was associated with a decreased risk of psychological distress at follow-up (odds ratio = 0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.46, 0.98), whereas a trajectory toward the labor market periphery was related to increased risk of nonoptimal health (odds ratio = 2.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.47, 4.39) when compared with remaining in fixed-term employment. A significant dose-response relation was seen between the measure combining exposure to instability with destination employment status and nonoptimal health. This longitudinal study provides evidence of health-related selection into employment trajectories and suggests that the trajectories themselves carry different health risks.

Socioeconomic position in childhood and in adulthood and functional limitations in midlife: Data from a nationally-representative survey of French men and women

“…The associations between childhood and adult socioeconomic factors and health in midlife in our study are consistent with past investigations conducted in other countries (Power et al, 1996;Poulton et At the same time, health problems may lead to less favourable occupational trajectories (Leclerc, Zins, Bugel, Chastang, David, Morcet et al 1994;Ribet et al, 2003;Virtanen, Vahtera, Kivimaki, Liukkonen, Virtanen & Ferrie, 2005). In our study, men who experienced downward career mobility had high rates of functional limitations, while those who experienced upward mobility were as healthy as participants who benefited from the most favourable socioeconomic circumstances.…”

Precarious employment and the risk of serious psychological distress: a population-based cohort study in Japan

“…Importantly, some of these studies relied on data collected over a decade or more (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Although differences in temporal and social context (eg, gender roles, labor policies, and social security policies) might affect the association between precarious employment and poor mental health, comparable Asian longitudinal studies using updated data (15) are scarce.…”

“…Precarious employment can adversely affect mental health through the above-mentioned bad job characteristics (5); however, poor mental health can be a risk factor for precarious employment as well, because health problems reduce the chances of achieving a good position in the labor market (6). Several (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), but not all (13)(14)(15), longitudinal studies have shown that experiencing precarious employment is associated with a greater incidence of poor mental health, after controlling for the selection effects of mental health on precarious employment. In other words, these studies adjusted for baseline mental health in the multivariate analyses or excluded participants with poor mental health at baseline.…”

Differences in Self‐rated Health by Employment Contract and Household Structure among Japanese Employees: A Nationwide Cross‐sectional Study

“…Finally, given the cross-sectional nature of the study, we could not exclude the possibility of reverse causality-that is, that lower SRH led to precarious employment status. However, a previous study reported that gaining permanent employment predicted better health outcomes for precarious workers 10) . In summary, this large representative study suggests that female precarious workers in Japan do not constitute a homogeneous group and that those living in single-parent households are vulnerable to low income and poor health.…”