Precarious employment and stress: any differences between objective or subjective measures of stress? (original) (raw)

Association between Precarious Employment and Chronic Stress: Effect of Gender, Stress Measurement and Precariousness Dimensions—A Cross-Sectional Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Precarious employment has been highlighted as a social determinant of health, given, among others, to its alleged association with chronic stress. However, few studies have been conducted analyzing such association, using both perceived stress indicators and biological markers. Accordingly, the present study analyzed the association of multidimensional (6 dimensions) precarious employment scale with perceived stress and 23 markers of adrenal and gonadal hormone production, including cortisol. The sample consisted of 255 salaried workers from Barcelona (125 men, 130 women) aged 25–60. OLS regression models stratified by sex were conducted. Results demonstrated that precarious employment increased the probabilities of having perceived stress in both sexes. In addition, the production of adrenal hormones among men is associated with precarious wages and among women with precarious contracts (“Temporariness”, “Disempowerment”, and “Rights” dimensions). Therefore, precarious employment c...

Precarious Employment and Stress: The Biomedical Embodiment of Social Factors. PRESSED Project Study Protocol

Frontiers in Public Health, 2021

The PRESSED project aims to explain the links between a multidimensional measure of precarious employment and stress and health. Studies on social epidemiology have found a clear positive association between precarious employment and health, but the pathways and mechanisms to explain such a relationship are not well-understood. This project aims to fill this gap from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating the social and biomedical standpoints to comprehensively address the complex web of consequences of precarious employment and its effects on workers' stress, health and well-being, including health inequalities. The project objectives are: (1) to analyze the association between multidimensional precarious employment and chronic stress among salaried workers in Barcelona, measured both subjectively and using biological indicators; (2) to improve our understanding of the pathways and mechanisms linking precarious employment with stress, health and well-being; and (3) to an...

This just isn't sustainable’: Precarious employment, stress and workers' health

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2007

This paper explores the impact of precarious employment relationships on health outcomes. It uses a novel framework, "Employment Strain" to describe the characteristics of different employment relationships and how they impact health outcomes. It uses interview data and comments provided on a survey to explore these issues. The paper begins by exploring if the health effects reported by mid-career individuals in precarious employment are different from those of younger and older workers. Finding limited evidence to support this hypothesis, the paper goes on to explore in detail the conditions under which precarious employment does increase stress and tension and impact health outcomes. It concludes that a combination of an individual's desire for more permanent employment, the expectation that permanent employment will be found, and the support individuals receive from various sources are critical to understanding the health effects of precarious employment.

A multidimensional approach to precarious employment: measurement, association with poor mental health and prevalence in the Spanish workforce

2010

Objective: To study the psychometric properties and construct validity of a multidimensional instrument to measure employment precariousness; to assess the association between employment precariousness and poor mental health; to estimate the prevalence and distribution of employment precariousness in the Spanish workforce; and to estimate the population attributable fraction of poor mental health due to employment precariousness. Methods: Cross-sectional study using data from the Psychosocial Work Environment Survey conducted in 2004-2005 in Spain. Representative sample of 6968 temporary and permanent workers with a formal work contract. Main results: The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) proved to be an acceptable and psychometrically sound measurement instrument. A high score of employment precariousness was associated with more than double the prevalence of poor mental health than a low score, both in women and men and after adjustments for relevant indicators of social position. More than 45% of the sample was exposed to some degree of precariousness, over 6.5% to high precariousness, with a highly unequal distribution across groups of workers. With due caution, it was estimated that if the observed association were causal, between 11% and 23% of poor mental health in the working population in Spain could be attributable to employment precariousness. Conclusions: Results highlight the relevance of employment precariousness for the mental health of the Spanish workforce. The EPRES is a promising tool for future research.

Precarious employment and general, mental and physical health in Stockholm, Sweden: a cross-sectional study

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2020

Objectives: To investigate the association between precarious employment and health in a sample of non-standard employees in Stockholm County, Sweden, by addressing three specific research questions: is the degree of precarious employment (low, moderate, high) associated with self-rated. . . (a) general health, (b) mental health, (c) musculoskeletal pain? Methods: Web-based respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit a sample of 415 employees in Stockholm, Sweden, during 2016–2017. Questionnaire data were collected on employment conditions (the Swedish version of the employment precariousness scale (EPRES-Se)), general health, mental health and musculoskeletal pain. EPRES-Se scores were categorised as low, moderate or high. Generalised linear models with Poisson distribution, log link functions and robust variances were applied for calculating crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR; aPR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all outcomes. Results: The prevalence ratios of poo...

The importance of using a multi-dimensional scale to capture the various impacts of precarious employment on health: Results from a national survey of Chilean workers

PLOS ONE, 2020

Background Social epidemiologic research in relation to the health impacts of precarious employment has grown markedly during the past decade. While the multidimensional nature of precarious employment has long been acknowledged theoretically, empirical studies have mostly focused on one-dimensional approach only (based either on employment temporariness or perceived job insecurity). This study compares the use of a multidimensional employment precariousness scale (EPRES) with traditional one-dimensional approaches in relation to distinct health outcomes and across various socio-demographic characteristics. Methods We used a subsample of formal salaried workers (n = 3521) from the first Chilean employment and working conditions survey (2009-2010). Multilevel modified Poisson regressions with fixed effects (individuals nested within regions) and survey weights were conducted to estimate the association between general health, mental health and occupational injuries and distinct precarious employment exposures (temporary employment, perceived job insecurity, and the multidimensional EPRES scale). We assessed the presence of effect measure modification according to sex, age, educational level, and occupational class (manual/ non-manual). Results Compared to one-dimensional approaches to precarious employment, the multidimensional EPRES scale captured a larger picture of potential health effects and differences across

Employment Precariousness and Poor Mental Health: Evidence from Spain on a New Social Determinant of Health

Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2013

Background.Evidence on the health-damaging effects of precarious employment is limited by the use of one-dimensional approaches focused on employment instability. This study assesses the association between precarious employment and poor mental health using the multidimensional Employment Precariousness Scale.Methods.Cross-sectional study of 5679 temporary and permanent workers from the population-based Psychosocial Factors Survey was carried out in 2004-2005 in Spain. Poor mental health was defined as SF-36 mental health scores below the 25th percentile of the Spanish reference for each respondent’s sex and age. Prevalence proportion ratios (PPRs) of poor mental health across quintiles of employment precariousness (reference: 1st quintile) were calculated with log-binomial regressions, separately for women and men.Results.Crude PPRs showed a gradient association with poor mental health and remained generally unchanged after adjustments for age, immigrant status, socioeconomic posit...

Individual Differences on Job Stress and Related Ill Health

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2014

Citation: Stefanovska Petkovska M, Velik Stefanovska V, Bojadziev M. Individual Differences on Job Stress and Related Ill Health. Maced J Med Sci. 2014 Mar 15; 7(1):147-153. http://dx.

The Relationship of General Health and Job Stress in Industrial Workers

Journal of health sciences and surveillance system, 2019

Background Job stress is one of the most hazardous factors in workplace that endangers the workers’ public health physically and psychologically.Aims This study was conducted to investigate the general health status and occupational stress of workers in an electrical tablet production industry in Iran.Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 110 workers employed in electrical industry. The data were gathered by using demographic features questionnaire, general health questionnaire (GHQ), and job stress questionnaire (OSIPOW). The questionnaires were completed by interview to minimize the error in the data collection stage. Data were analyzed using SPSS (ver.20). A p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results 63.6% of the participants in this study were in inappropriate general health status. There was a significant difference between the total score of general health and education level (P=0.04). Also, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in...

Precarious work, job stress, and health-related quality of life

2021

Objectives: Recent technological and work organization changes have resulted in an increased prevalence of nonstandard work arrangement types. One of the consequences has been an increased prevalence of precarious work. Our objective was to generate a scale to measure work precariousness in the United States and examine the associations between this study precariousness scale with job stress, unhealthy days, and days with activity limitations among US workers from 2002 to 2014, to determine if precarious work adversely affects worker health. Methods: Our scale was inspired by the Employment Precariousness Scale that measures work precariousness reported by salaried workers and developed for the US workforce. We used pooled cross-sectional data from 22 representative items from the General Social Survey, Quality of Work Life survey for the years 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. These data included 4534 observations for analysis. We used regression models to examine associations between work precariousness and job stress, unhealthy days, and days with activity limitations. Results: Statistically significant positive association existed between job stress and work precariousness. Workers reporting work precariousness were more likely to experience more days in poor physical and mental health and more days with activity limitations due to health problems. Conclusions: The results of our study provide support for our precariousness scale and its suitability for assessing the health-related quality of life of workers in different work arrangements.