The Emergence of Precarious Employment as a Determinant of Health in Europe and the Relevance of Contextual Factors: A Critical Research Synthesis

Abstract

Precarious employment as a determinant of health remains on the rise in Europe, in contrast to the European Pillar of Social Rights. Research in epidemiology, public health, and occupational health research has debated the health impacts of precarious employment. A number of studies have concluded that precarious employment contributes to poor health. More recent research has focused on the contextual influences of the association between precarious employment and health. Accordingly, we argue that the welfare state and the specific institutional arrangements on the national level determine and mediate the extent of the association between precarious employment and health. This research synthesis: (a) debates explanations for the rise of precarious employment in Europe, (b) illustrates how precarious employment has risen in Europe since the 1980s, (c) indicates empirical findings of the association between precarious employment and health in Europe, (d) discusses how research explains between-country differences of the association between precarious employment and health, and (e) presents empirical findings on the contextual determinants of the association between precarious employment and health in Europe.

Working poverty and self-rated health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative study over time using 1995–2021 Socioeconomic Panel data

“…Angaben, die zwischen 2010 und Februar 2020 erfasst wurden, wurden der Post-Rezessionsphase zugeordnet. Die Phasen berücksichtigen Maßnahmen der Regulierung und Deregulierung zum Mindestlohn, zur geringfügigen, kurzfristigen und befristeten Beschäftigung, zur Arbeitnehmerüberlassung, zur Arbeitslosigkeit und zum Kündigungsschutz, da diese direkten wie indirekten Einfluss auf die Lage Erwerbsarmer nehmen [ 41 ]. Eine umfassende Übersicht zu den in Deutschland implementierten Reformen liefert Steffen [ 42 ].…”

Editorial

“…Colleagues in recent years have developed an increasingly sophisticated understanding of ways that commercial actors can determine health status for populations for good or ill. 1 Good employment with a fair wage and good working conditions can be a powerful creator of wealth and health. 7 But commercial self-interest can also lead to product formulation, marketing and policy advocacy inimical to good health for all. We may readily think of the tobacco industry but the harms from gambling, highly processed foods, takeaway foods, alcohol and quick, disposable fashion all have consequences for our health.…”