Nonstandard Employment, Gender, and Subjective Well‐Being in Japan

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study examines how relationships between nonstandard employment (NSE) and subjective well‐being (SWB) differ by gender in Japan, paying particular attention to employees' motivation for engaging in NSE, their marital status, and their spouses' employment status.BackgroundThe expansion of nonstandard work is a gendered phenomenon that has contributed to increasing economic uncertainty and insecurity and may have differential implications for the SWB of men and women. Japan's rapid increase in nonstandard work, rigid labor market, and strong gender norms provide a valuable context in which to investigate the interrelationships between NSE, gender, and SWB.MethodFixed effects regression models with data from the Keio Household Panel Survey, a panel survey of a nationally representative sample of men and women, were used.ResultsInvoluntary nonstandard work was associated, on average, with significantly lower SWB for both men and women. This pattern was held for men, regardless of marital status, whereas it was observed for unmarried women, but not for married women. Within married couples, no significant relationships between spouses' involuntary nonstandard work and respondents' own SWB were found.ConclusionThe expansion of NSE in Japan has negative consequences for individuals' subjective life evaluation, except for married women, who shoulder domestic responsibilities and thereby types of employment may be less salient to SWB.

Research on the Influence of Informal Employment on Residents’ Happiness in China: Empirical Analysis Based on CLDS Data

“…More specifically, residents participating in informal employment are associated with a 0.085 standard deviation in happiness score growth. This conclusion is consistent with the research conclusion of Wang et al [ 27 ], whose study shows residents engaging in informal employment will significantly reduce their happiness. The Oprobit regression results from column (5) to column (8) are similar to the previous OLS regression results, which also show that informal employment hurts residents’ happiness.…”

“…Robone et al [ 26 ] also found that informal employment hurts residents’ happiness, and this impact to a certain extent depends on people’s working time preferences, family conditions, and their employability. Similar evidence of a negative correlation between informal employment and residents’ happiness has been found in several other developed and developing countries, including Japan [ 27 ], Canada [ 28 ], Sweden [ 29 ], Belgium [ 30 ], and Bosnia and Herzegovina [ 31 ]. However, the informal employment–happiness gradient association is still unclear in the literature, because other studies have found different results.…”

Nonstandard employment and support for older parents in urban China

“…In East Asia, recent economic stagnation and deterioration have led to salient labor market segmentation between standard and nonstandard employment, a distinction that has been linked to a wide array of social inequality outcomes (Kalleberg et al, 2022; Raymo et al, 2023). For instance, in Japan, the percentage of women working in NSE increased from 29% in 1984 to 57% in 2014, and the percentage of male nonstandard employees also nearly tripled from less than 8% in the late 1980s to 22% in 2014 (Wang and Raymo, 2021). Recent statistics from South Korea show that one in three waged workers is classified as holding a nonstandard job and the proportion of self-employed workers is over 20%; women are also overrepresented in nonstandard jobs (Lim, 2021).…”

“…Research has generally linked NSE arrangements with various undesirable employment and other economic outcomes, including lower levels of wages/income, benefits, job security, fewer promotion opportunities, and lower chances of becoming homeowners and accumulating wealth (Gash and McGinnity, 2007; Giesecke and Groß, 2003; Kalleberg, 2018; McGovern et al, 2004; Wang and Gerber, 2023). Other than the worse economic well-being of nonstandard workers, studies have also documented the negative relationships between working precarious, nonstandard jobs and individuals’ health status, subjective well-being, marriage entry and family stability, and children's development (Inanc, 2018; Piotrowski et al, 2015; Wang, 2023; Wang and Raymo, 2021).…”