Underemployment and well-being in the UK before and after the Great Recession

Abstract

Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008 there has been widespread concern with changes in the level and composition of unemployment. The phenomenon of underemployment has, however, received markedly less attention, although it too increased in extent following the start of the crisis. This article considers the consequences of underemployment for the subjective well-being of UK employees. Drawing on data from the 2006 and 2012 Employment and Skills Surveys, the article assesses how the Great Recession affected relationships between different dimensions of underemployment and well-being. The findings demonstrate that the negative wellbeing consequences of workers' dissatisfaction with opportunities to make use of their abilities became more substantial, as did the consequences of being 'hours constrained' and having an unsatisfactory workload. The article also shows that the economic crisis had a negative impact on the well-being of employees who work very long hours.

Gender segregation, underemployment and subjective well-being in the UK labour market

“…These findings are relatively consistent across the USA, Australia and the UK where the studies have been conducted. In the UK, Heyes et al (2016) also found that the negative relationships between time-related underemployment and well-being have become stronger since the 2008 economic recession. Most previous studies have found that, after controlling for a range of socio-demographic characteristics, women are more likely to be underemployed than men; however, there is less consistency in the findings about whether both male and female well-being suffers as a result of underemployment (Angrave and Charlwood, 2015;Friedland and Price, 2003;Heyes et al, 2016;Maynard and Feldman, 2011;Wilkins, 2007;Wooden et al, 2009).…”

“…A number of studies have found that underemployment is related negatively to some dimensions of subjective well-being (Angrave and Charlwood, 2015;Dooley, 2003;Friedland and Price, 2003;Heyes et al, 2016;Maynard and Feldman, 2011;Wilkins, 2007;Wooden et al, 2009). These findings are relatively consistent across the USA, Australia and the UK where the studies have been conducted.…”

“…While previous global economic crises had been associated with sharp increases in unemployment, the crisis of 2008 was characterised in many European countries by a marked increase in underemployment, that is, people working in jobs that are below their full working capacity in terms of working hours, skills, qualifications and income Blanchflower, 2011, 2013;Gregg and Wadsworth, 2010a;Heyes et al, 2016). In the UK, the number and proportion of workers who would like to work longer hours or who are working part-time but would prefer a full-time job has been growing since 2008 and has reached historically high levels (Bell and Blanchflower, 2011, 2014Blanchflower, 2015).…”

Living with uncertain work

“…The economic crisis that commenced in 2008 had a substantial impact on the UK labour market, leading to a marked increase in unemployment, under-employment and labour market inactivity, particularly among young people (Goujard et al, 2011;Heyes et al, 2017). Although the rate of aggregate unemployment began to fall after 2011, the apparent recovery in the labour market coincided with increases in forms of employment often associated with precariousness (McKay et al, 2012).…”

Work, love, and death‐thought accessibility: A terror management investigation

“…Indeed, unemployment is a condition associated with a number of negative factors including heightened risk for substance use (Henkel, ), lower well‐being (Flint, Shelton, Bartley, & Sacker, ; McKee‐Ryan, Song, Wanberg, & Kinicki, ), and what could be considered negative personality shifts such as lower agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness (Boyce, Wood, & Brown, ; Boyce, Wood, Daly, & Sedikides, ). Further, fluctuations in labour market health, associated with attributes such as number of jobs, employability, utilization of worker skills, number of casual and fixed‐term contracts, and rates of insecure employment are linked with variation in psychological well‐being (e.g., Green, ; Heyes, Tomlinson, & Whitworth, ; McKee‐Ryan & Harvey, ). This may suggest employment, and perceptions of a healthy job market can serve a protective function across a range of domains.…”