Unemployment and Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

An analysis is conducted as to whether social class position matters for the negative change in subjective well-being experienced from unemployment. Theory on work identification and work conditions is used to formulate hypotheses on the differential impact on well-being of entering unemployment from different social classes. Data are analyzed from 14 waves of the British Household Panel Survey, and fixed effects methods are used. Main results are that the negative effect of job loss on subjective well-being is highest for individuals who are in the middle classes prior to becoming unemployed.

Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007-10: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn

“…Moreover, Sacks et al (2010Sacks et al ( , 2013 suggest that subjective well-being grows alongside living standards, though they find the marginal impact of a unit of extra income diminishing and Powdthavee (2010) also finds larger income effects than previous studies using instrumental variables techniques. In a recent paper Easterlin (2013) 5 Also see the literature on social capital and life satisfaction, which shows a clear and positive link between these variables (see Becchetti et al 2008and 2009, Bartolini 2007, Helliwell and Putnam 2004, Tkach and Lyubomirsky (2006 These findings are supported by Alesina et al (2004) who did not find negative effects of unemployment on life satisfaction but attested inflation to have a significant negative effect on wellbeing. Summarizing, it has been shown that the negative effect of unemployment is typically stronger than the negative one of inflation, while the effect of GDP growth on life satisfaction and well-being is still to some extent disputed…”

“…While Strandh (2000) found no such differences at all, Whelan (1994) found differences for men but not for women. Andersen (2009), however, shows using the BHPS that the negative effect of job loss on subjective well-being is highest for individuals who have been members of the middle classes prior to becoming unemployed.…”

A Influência da Satisfação Laboral no Bem-estar Subjetivo: Uma Perspectiva Geracional

“…Neste trabalho, consideramos que a abordagem bottomup seja a mais adequada ao estudo das variáveis em questão e elencamos a avaliação da esfera laboral como um potencial fator de influência nessa relação, já que o trabalho confere identidade e reconhecimento às pessoas, permite o preenchimento de suas necessidades individuais, possibilita a organização de rotinas e o engajamento com causas coletivas (Andersen, 2009), sendo um elemento gerador de sentido de vida (Bitencourt, Onuma, Piccinini, Moreira, & Severo, 2014).…”

Interrelationships among Locus of Control and Years in Management and Unemployment: Differences by Gender

“…Although gender differences have been observed both in the level of unemployment and in its psychological and socio-economic consequences, negative psychological, mental health and economic consequences for women and men who have experienced unemployment have been well-documented in the literature (see Signe Andersen, 2009;Kenneth Cole, Anne Daly, and Anita Mak, 2009;Bruno Frey and Alois Stutzer, 2002;Ed Diener et al 1999;Andrew Clark and Andrew Oswald,1994;Liliana Winkelmann and Rainer Winkelmann, 1998;Cynthia Murray, Lan Gien, & Shirley Solberg, 2003). Observed negative effects of unemployment tend to be more severe for men than for women (Lucia Artazcoz et al, 2004, Clifford Broman et al, 1995.…”