Comparing precarious employment across countries: measurement invariance of the employment precariousness scale for europe (EPRES-E)

Comparing precarious employment (PE) across countries is essential to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon and to learn from country-specific experiences. However, this is hampered by the lack of internationally meaningful measures of PE. We aim to address this point by assessing the measurement invariance (MI) of the Employment Precariousness Scale for Europe (EPRES-E), an adaptation of the EPRES construct in the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS). EPRES-E consists of 13 proxy-indicators sorted into six dimensions: temporariness, disempowerment, vulnerability, wages, exercise of rights, unpredictable working times. Drawing on EWCS-2015, MI of the second-order factor model was tested in a sample of 31,340 formal employees by means of (a) multi-group confirmatory factor analyses, and (b) the substantive exploration of EPRES-E mean scores in each country (...

Precarització de les condicions d'ocupació a la Unió Europea: Precarietat, informalitat, i associació amb la salut

Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu principal descriure la precarització del mercat laboral tal com es manifesta en diferents tipus de contracte (permanent, temporal i informal) i explorar l’associació de la precarietat laboral amb la salut dels treballadors. A través de diferents metodologies s’han realitzat tres estudis quantitatius amb dades de diferents enquestes i dues revisions diferents de la literatura. Els resultats confirmen la precarització de les condicions d’ocupació com a conseqüència de les polítiques del mercat de treball i l’augment del poder dels empresaris. La precarietat laboral està present en tots els tipus de contracte estudiats, tant en els treballadors permanents com en els temporals i informals, i segueix un gradient entre elles. També s’ha demostrat que el treball informal, una de les condicions d’ocupació menys estudiades des del punt de vista de la salut pública, es troba present a la Unió Europea. Aquests treballadors tenen pitjors condicions de treball i nivells més elevats de precarietat laboral comparats amb els treballadors permanents i temporals; però això no es reflexa en un pitjor estat de salut. Els nostres resultats confirmen la importància d’estudiar la precarietat laboral mitjançant una mesura multidimensional. Incloure en els sistemes de vigilància epidemiològica la mesura tant de la precarietat laboral com del treball informal seria de gran importància per tal de constatar-ne l’evolució i permetre el disseny de polítiques públiques orientades a millorar la salut dels treballadors i reduir les desigualtats en salut existents entre ells.The main aim of this dissertation was to describe the precaritzation of the labour market as it manifests itself in different types of contract (permanent, temporary and informal) as a proxy of employment conditions and to explore the association of precarious employment with workers’ health. Adopting different methodologies, three quantitative studies were performed using data from different surveys as well as two different types of literature reviews. Results confirm the precaritzation of employment conditions as a consequence of the labour market policies and an increase of the employers’ power. Employment precariousness is present in all types of contract studied, both in permanent employees and in temporary and informal employees, and a gradient exists between them. It has also shown that informal employment, one of the least studied employment condition from a public health stand point, is present in the European Union. These workers have worse working conditions and higher levels of precarious employment compared with permanent and temporary workers; but this is not reflected as having worse health. Our results confirm the importance of studying precarious employment through multidimensional measure. Including both measures of precarious and informal employment in epidemiological surveillance systems is of great importance in order to verify their evolution and allow for the design of public policies oriented to improve workers’ health and reduce existing health inequalities among them

Precarious employment and chronic stress: do social support networks matter?

Precarious employment has been identified as a potentially damaging stressor. Conversely, social support networks have a well-known protective effect on health and well-being. The ways in which precariousness and social support may interact have scarcely been studied with respect to either perceived stress or objective stress biomarkers. This research aims to fill this gap by means of a cross-sectional study based on a non-probability quota sample of 250 workers aged 25–60 in Barcelona, Spain. Fieldwork was carried out between May 2019 and January 2020. Employment precariousness, perceived social support and stress levels were measured by means of scales, while individual steroid profiles capturing the chronic stress suffered over a period of a month were obtained from hair samples using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methodology. As for perceived stress, analysis indicates that a reverse buffering effect exists (interaction B = 0.22, p = 0.014). Steroid biomarkers are unrelated to social support, while association with precariousness is weak and only reaches significance at p < 0.05 in the case of women and 20ß dihydrocortisone metabolites. These results suggest that social support can have negative effects on the relationship between perceived health and an emerging stressful condition like precariousness, while its association with physiological measures of stress remains uncertain.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the research grant “Precariedad laboral y estrés: factores sociales con impacto biomédico”, ref. CSO2017-89719-R funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), EU

The measure of precarious employment and its impact on the mental health of workers: A systematic review 2007-2020

Background: Precarious employment conditions can influence the worker's mental health; however, there is no consensus regarding the definition of precarious employment or the way it is measured. Objective: The objective is to identify existing research of the conceptual framework, the ways to measure precarious employment and its impact on the mental health of workers. Methods: A systematic review with the strategic search for observational-empirical and qualitative studies published between 2007 and 2020 in Embase, Scopus and PubMed, full text, in English and Spanish. Studies were selected and excluded, according to eligibility criteria. Two independent reviewers and one arbitrator evaluated the quality of selected papers with the STROBE guidelines for observational studies and SRQR for qualitative ones. Results: 408 studies were obtained, 21 met inclusion criteria, in 14 studies precarious employment was measured one-dimensionally. Of these, 11 with the dimension of temporality and three with insecurity. Four studies it was measured in a multidimensional way, with the Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) and in three qualitative designs, with different categories of analysis. Mental health was measured with SF-36 (n = 4), GHQ-12 (n = 3) and CES-D (n = 3). Conclusions: The concept of precarious employment requires a multidimensional construct, although the tendency to measure precarious employment is one-dimensional. Regardless of how is measured, this has a negative impact on the mental health of workers. The outcomes related to this social determinant included depression, depressive symptoms, psychological distress, stress, and suicidal thoughts. Youths, women, people with low levels of education and immigrants are the groups that show the major precariousness

Gender differences in the indirect effect of psychosocial work environment in the association of precarious employment and chronic stress: A cross-sectional mediation analysis

Gender differences in the association between precarious employment and chronic stress have been found but the mechanisms underlying this relationship have not been explored. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the mediating effects of psychosocial risk factors at work (i.e., demands, control, and support) and work-life conflicts in the relationship between precarious employment and chronic stress as measured through the production of steroid hormones (both adrenal and gonadal) for men and women separately. Cross-sectional data were derived from a sample of workers from Barcelona (n = 125-255 men; 130 women). A set of 23 markers were determined from hair samples to evaluate the production of both adrenal and gonadal steroids. Decomposition analyses were applied to estimate the indirect effects of psychosocial risk factors and work-life conflict using linear regression models. Gender differences in the association between precarious employment and steroids production were confirmed. Psychosocial risk factors and work-life conflicts had indirect effects only among women (βCortisol = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.04-0.32; βCortisol/Cortisone 0.19; 95% CI: 0.08-0.31; β%Cortisol 0.12; 95% CI: 0.05-0.20). Gender differences suggest that the physiological response to precarious employment could be determined by the social construction of gender identities, as well as by positions and roles in the labour market and family. Future studies should delve further into these differences to improve employment and working policies, thus mitigating gender inequalities in the labour market to prevent work-related stress

Non-standard employment and unemployment during the COVID-19 crisis: economic and health findings from a six-country survey study

The COVID-19 crisis is a global event that has created and amplified social inequalities, including an already existing and steadily increasing problem of employment and income insecurity and erosion of workplace rights, affecting workers globally. The aim of this exploratory study was to review employment-related determinants of health and health protection during the pandemic, or more specifically, to examine several links between non-standard employment, unemployment, economic, health, and safety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the United States, and Chile, based on an online survey conducted from November 2020 to June 2021. The study focused on both non-standard workers and unemployed workers and examined worker outcomes in the context of current type and duration of employment arrangements, as well as employment transitions triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest that COVID-19-related changes in non-standard worker employment arrangements, or unemployment, are related to changes in work hours, income, and benefits, as well as the self-reported prevalence of suffering from severe to extreme anxiety or depression. The results also suggest a link between worker type, duration of employment arrangements, or unemployment, and the ability to cover regular expenses during the pandemic. Additionally, the findings indicate that the type and duration of employment arrangements are related to the provision of personal protective equipment or other COVID-19 protection measures. This study provides additional evidence that workers in non-standard employment and the unemployed have experienced numerous and complex adverse effects of the pandemic and require additional protection through tailored pandemic responses and recovery strategies

COVID-19 and precarious employment: consequences of the evolving crisis

The world of work is facing an ongoing pandemic and an economic downturn with severe effects worldwide. Workers trapped in precarious employment (PE), both formal and informal, are among those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we call attention to at least 5 critical ways that the consequences of the crisis among workers in PE will be felt globally: (a) PE will increase, (b) workers in PE will become more precarious, (c) workers in PE will face unemployment without being officially laid off, (d) workers in PE will be exposed to serious stressors and dramatic life changes that may lead to a rise in diseases of despair, and (e) PE might be a factor in deterring the control of or in generating new COVID19 outbreaks. We conclude that what we really need is a new social contract, where the work of all workers is recognized and protected with adequate job contracts, employment security, and social protection in a new economy, both during and after the COVID-19 crisis

Association between precarious employment and chronic stress: Effect of gender, stress measurement and precariousness dimensions-A cross-sectional study

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 could be embodied by workers, altering their perceived well-being and physiological characteristics. Differences between men and women in the physiological effect of precarious employment could express not just the biochemical differences inherent to biological sex, but also the social construction of gender identities, positions and roles in society and family, as well as gender inequalities in the labour market.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant agreement N° CSO2017-89719-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). FMR is funded by National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) of Uruguay under the code POS_EXT_2018_1_153741

Precarious employment and mental health across European welfare states: a gender perspective

Objective: The aim of this article was to examine the relationship between precarious employment (PE), welfare states (WS) and mental health in Europe from a gender perspective. Methods: Data were derived from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. PE was measured through the Employment Precariousness Scale for Europe (EPRES-E), validated for comparative research in 22 European countries, and categorized into quartiles. Countries were classified into Continental, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Southern and Central-Eastern WS. Mental health was assessed through the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and dichotomized into poor and good mental health. In a sample of 22,555 formal employees, we performed gender-stratified multi-level logistic regression models. Results: Results showed greater prevalences of PE and poor mental health among women. However, the association between them was stronger among men. Cross-country differences were observed in multi-level regressions, but the interaction effect of WS was only significant among women. More precisely, Central-Eastern WS enhanced the likelihood of poor mental health among women in high precarious employment situations (quartiles 3 and 4). Conclusions: These findings suggest the interaction between contextual and individual factors in the production of mental health inequalities, both within and across countries. They also call for the incorporation of gender-sensitive welfare policies if equitable and healthy labor markets are to be achieved in Europe

The double burden of precariousness: linking housing, employment, and perceived stress - a cross-sectional study

Data de publicació electrónica: 12-05-2022Employment precariousness is widely recognised as a social determinant of health and a chronic stressor. Yet precariousness extends beyond employment, into other aspects of life. Using a multidimensional social pathways approach, this study examines the synergistic effects of employment and housing precariousness on self-perceived stress. This study uses the PRESSED dataset (N = 255) derived from the Barcelona Health Survey, which collects data on stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Employment precariousness was operationalized using the Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) and a multidimensional indicator of housing precariousness was constructed. Generalized structural equation modelling was used to estimate associations between these indicators and self-perceived stress measured by Perceived Stress Survey (PSS), after accounting for sociodemographic variables. Employment and housing precariousness were positively associated with self-perceived stress (OR = 3.23 ; p = 0.002) (OR = 4.28 ; p = 0.065) respectively. The mediating effect of housing precariousness accounted for 16% of the total effect of employment precariousness on stress after controlling for sociodemographic variables. Furthermore, we find that both precarious conditions were unequally distributed by age, sex educational level, and place of birth in the sample. We conclude that employment and housing precariousness are important chronic stressors and that a social pathway approach is needed.Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the research grant Precariedad laboral y estrés: factores sociales con impacto biomédico, ref. CSO2017-89719-R, funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), EU. Joan Benach gratefully acknowledges the financial support by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme