This study looks at the health consequences of the social distress caused by perceived levels of job insecurity. Through interviews with full- and part-time employees drawn from a random sample (N = 2,024) of the Swiss general population, the authors measured prevalence rates of ten self-reported indicators of health and health-related behavior according to three levels of perceived job insecurity (low, middle, high), and estimated odds ratios using logistic regression adjusted for relevant respondent characteristics. The results show that the psychosocial stress induced by job insecurity (fear of unemployment) has a negative effect on these health indicators. Fear of unemployment had a stronger unfavorable effect on health for highly educated employees than for the less educated. The authors make some recommendations for raising awareness about the health effects of job insecurity and taking these effects into account in policies and legislation affecting the labor market and work environment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
LevinL. S.MahonL.ZiglioE. (eds.). Economic Change, Social Welfare and Health in Europe. WHO Regional Publications, European Series No. 54. World Health Organization, Copenhagen, 1994.
2.
MarkenbachJ. P., Socio-economic inequalities in morbidity and mortality in western Europe. Lancet349: 1655–1659, 1997.
3.
KunstA. E.GroenhofF.MackenbachJ. P.MackenbachE.U., Working Group on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health. Occupational class and cause specific mortality in middle aged men in 11 European countries: Comparison of population based studies. BMJ316: 1636–1642, 1998.
4.
McKieR. M.HoleD. J., Incidence and thickness of primary tumours and survival of patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma in relation to socio-economic status. BMJ312: 1125–1128, 1996.
5.
ShorttS. E., Is unemployment pathogenic? A review of current concepts with lessons for policy planners. Int. J. Health Serv. 26: 569–589, 1996.
6.
MarmotM. G., Contribution of job control and other risk factors to social variations in coronary heart disease incidence. Lancet350: 235–239, 1997.
7.
SmithG. DaveyHardingS., Is control at work the key to socio-economic gradient in mortality?Lancet350: 1369–1370, 1997.
8.
WhiteheadM.Counting the human costs: Opportunities for and barriers to promoting health. In Economic Change, Social Welfare and Health in Europe, edited by LevinL. S.MahonL.ZiglioE., pp. 59–75. WHO Regional Publications, European Series No. 54. World Health Organization, Copenhagen, 1994.
9.
MarmotM. G., Improvement of social environment to improve health. Lancet351: 57–60, 1988.
10.
MakaraP.The effect of social changes on the population's way of life and health: A Hungarian case study. In Economic Change, Social Welfare and Health in Europe, edited by LevinL. S.MahonL.ZiglioE., pp. 77–94. WHO Regional Publications, European Series No. 54. World Health Organization, Copenhagen, 1994.
11.
HarringtonP.RitsatakisA. (eds.). European Health Policy Conference: Opportunities for the Future, Copenhagen, 5–9 December 1994, Vol. 5: Health Challenges for Countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 1995.
12.
NavarroV., Neoliberalism, “globalization,” unemployment, inequalities, and the welfare state. Int. J. Health Serv. 28: 607–682, 1988.
13.
OECD. Employment Outlook. Paris, 1998.
14.
FalterJ. M.Ferro-LuzziG.FlückigerY., Travail à temps partiel et indépendants en Suisse: élements d'explication de l'évolution récente. Sécurité Sociale3: 122–138, 1998.
15.
BielenskiH.New Forms of Work and Activity: Survey of Experience at Establishment Level in Eight European Countries. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, and Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1994.
16.
HuthP.LongchampC.Wie das Stimmwolk das Gesundheitswesen sieht. Interpharma, GFS Forschungsinstitut, Hergiswill, 1998.
17.
SchnallP. L., The impact of anticipation of job loss on psychological distress and worksite blood pressure. Am. J. Ind. Med.21: 417–432, 1992.
18.
FerrieJ. E., Health effects of anticipation of job change and non-employment: Longitudinal data from the Whitehall II study. BMJ311: 1264–1269, 1995.
19.
SeifertA. M.MessingK.DumaisL., Star wars and strategic defense initiatives: Work activity and health symptoms of unionized bank tellers during work reorganization. Int. J. Health Serv. 27: 455–477, 1997.
20.
FerrieJ. E., An uncertain future: The health effects of threats to employment security in white-collar men and women. Am. J. Pub. Health88: 1030–1036, 1998.
21.
VahteraJ.KivimakiM.PenttiJ., Effect of organizational downsizing on health of employees. Lancet350: 1124–1128, 1997.
22.
OECD. L'étude de l'OCDE sur l'emploi: Le chômage dans la zone de l'OCDE de 1950 à 1995. Paris, 1994.
23.
RamonetI.Desarmer les marchés. Le Monde Diplomatique, December 1997.
24.
UlrichP., Politique économique humaine. La Vie Economique10: 32–36, 1998.
25.
WardeI.Le projet de taxe Tobin, bête noire des spéculateurs, cible des censeurs. Le Monde Diplomatique, February 1997.
26.
SramI.AshtonJ., Millennium report to Sir Edwin Chadwick. BMJ317: 592–596, 1998.
27.
BlaneD.BartleyM.SmithG. Davey, Disease aetiology and materialist explanations of socioeconomic mortality differentials. Eur. J. Public Health7: 385–391, 1997.
28.
Social Challenge to Health: Equity and Patients' Rights in the Context of Health Reforms. Final Text of the Fifth Conference of European Health Ministers, Warsaw, November 7–8, 1996. Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 1996.
