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Unemployment and Subjective Well-Being
Abstract and Figures
Download a summary of key findings from the book at
http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/findings/ESS2-ESS5_toplines_issue-3_economic_crisis.pdf
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... Therefore, in this study, I focus on the individual level to explore how experiencing unemployment affects personal relations to family and friends. Close and stable relations with others are an important aspect of an individual's social integration, as they yield embeddedness and belonging through the provision of emotional and financial support (Russell et al. 2013;Lelkes 2010). These relationships can build a foundation for cultural, civic and political practices encouraging trust and recognition (Gundert and Hohendanner 2014). ...
... The literature discusses two broad explanatory mechanisms linking unemployment to stress in social relations and potential social exclusion: the loss of income and financial resources (Rogge and Kieselbach 2009;Vogel 2000;Gallie et al. 2003;Russell et al. 2013) and difficulty performing a social role and identity struggles (Stryker and Burke 2000;Petersen 2011;Rogge and Kieselbach 2009;Schöb 2013). ...
Relations to family and friends are a key dimension of an individual’s social integration and, by extension, are crucial for the social cohesion of societies. Based on that principle, this study explores the effects of unemployment on close personal relations and asks whether negative effects of unemployment are primarily explicable as financial losses or social aspects of identity. This analytical approach goes beyond analysing the direct effects of unemployment through differentiating effects by gender, household composition, and individual work and family values. In doing so, it examines the channels through which unemployment has the potential to erode social relations.
Individual fixed effects models based on German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data from 1990 to 2017 reveal that financial strain fails to explain the effects of unemployment on social relations. However, the results suggest that social identity is influential in shaping unemployment effects. Although men see a reduction in their personal relations when experiencing unemployment, women’s unemployment experiences do not affect the frequency of their social interactions. Moreover, the fact that unemployment leads to a reduction of men’s social contacts, particularly among those living with children, points to potential difficulties in performing the social role of the family provider. Finally, placing high importance on having children, partnership and caring for others mitigates negative unemployment effects for men.
... Whereas previous research generally agrees that unemployment has negative effects on an individual's well-being (see McKee-Ryan et al, 2005;Paul and Moser, 2009;Wanberg, 2012), in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to how and why the effects of unemployment on well-being vary in line with the arrangement of the welfare state and other contextual factors (Gallie and Paugam, 2000;Eichhorn, 2013Eichhorn, , 2014Oesch and Lipps 2013;Russell et al, 2013;Wulfgramm, 2014;Calvo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). These studies have revealed that the loss of life satisfaction in the unemployed is often mitigated by more generous unemployment benefits (Wulfgramm, 2014;O'Campo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). ...
... Whereas previous research generally agrees that unemployment has negative effects on an individual's well-being (see McKee-Ryan et al, 2005;Paul and Moser, 2009;Wanberg, 2012), in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to how and why the effects of unemployment on well-being vary in line with the arrangement of the welfare state and other contextual factors (Gallie and Paugam, 2000;Eichhorn, 2013Eichhorn, , 2014Oesch and Lipps 2013;Russell et al, 2013;Wulfgramm, 2014;Calvo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). These studies have revealed that the loss of life satisfaction in the unemployed is often mitigated by more generous unemployment benefits (Wulfgramm, 2014;O'Campo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). ...
... Whereas previous research generally agrees that unemployment has negative effects on an individual's well-being (see McKee-Ryan et al, 2005;Paul and Moser, 2009;Wanberg, 2012), in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to how and why the effects of unemployment on well-being vary in line with the arrangement of the welfare state and other contextual factors (Gallie and Paugam, 2000;Eichhorn, 2013Eichhorn, , 2014Oesch and Lipps 2013;Russell et al, 2013;Wulfgramm, 2014;Calvo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). These studies have revealed that the loss of life satisfaction in the unemployed is often mitigated by more generous unemployment benefits (Wulfgramm, 2014;O'Campo et al, 2015;Voßemer et al, 2018). ...
... The financial consequences of job loss for workers also varied across the EU. For example, Russell et al. (2013) found that the superior social security systems in countries associated with the inclusive employment regime category cushioned the impact of the economic crisis on unemployed workers. Figure 23.1 also shows that the GFC disproportionally impacted the working lives of young workers, with severe long-term consequences for individuals and economies alike (Bell and Blanchflower 2010). ...
This chapter provides an overview of how labour market reforms have unfolded in Western Europe in the aftermath of the 2007-8 financial crisis. It argues that interrelated processes of liberalisation and deregulation have characterised the direction and content of labour market reforms and that this has increased precarity of labour across advanced capitalist economies as well as exacerbating inequality. Following the literature on institutional change, we show that a common trend of liberalisation, understood as the gradual expansion of market mechanisms in areas previously reserved for collective decision-making (Streeck 2008, 2011), has been a distinctive feature of policy making in the aftermath of the crisis. For labour markets and industrial relations systems, liberalisation implies ‘the steady expansion of employer discretion’ (Baccaro and Howell 2017: 18) through deregulation or the removal of institutional protections to employment. Framed as one of the root causes of weak competitiveness, low productivity and unemployment, employment protection legislation (EPL) came under attack from both national and international actors. Structural reforms advocated by the European Union (EU) featured labour market deregulation and wage restraint as the principal means to solve persistent imbalances in national labour markets and restore competitiveness. Deregulation has taken root even though solid evidence for the detrimental impact of EPL on employment outcomes is missing (Avdagic 2015). The principal outcome of deregulation has been a weakening in the position of labour (Heyes et al. 2012) and an expansion of precarious employment.
... More often than not, the negative relationship between unemployment and political trust is taken as a direct corollary to the wellknown regularity that personal economic success enhances perceptions of legitimacy, loyalty, and trust in the existing political institutions (Lipset, 1960;Almond and Verba, 1963). Other authors explicitly emphasize adverse political effects from economic hardship more specifically (Mughan, 2007;Russell et al., 2013;Brand, 2015;Naumann et al., 2016;Reeskens and Vandecasteele, 2017), which of course is a well-documented consequence of unemployment (DiPrete and McManus, 2000;Gallie and Paugam, 2000;Brand, 2015) (DiPrete, 2002). ...
Set against the backdrop of the Great Recession, the paper explores the interplay of unemployment experiences and political trust in the United States and 23 European countries between 2002 and 2017. Drawing on harmonized data from the European Social Survey and the General Social Survey, we confirm that citizens' personal experiences of unemployment depress trust in democratic institutions in all countries. Using multilevel linear probability models, we show that the relationship between unemployment and political trust varies between countries, and that, paradoxically, the negative effect of unemployment on political trust is consistently stronger in the more generous welfare states. This result holds while controlling for a range of other household and country-level predictors, and even in mediation models that incorporate measures of households' economic situation to explain the negative effect of unemployment on trust. As expected, country differences in the generosity of welfare states are reflected in the degree to which financial difficulties are mediating the relationship between unemployment and political trust. Overlaying economic deprivation , however, cultural mechanisms of stigmatization or status deprivation also create negative responses to unemployment experiences, and these render the effect of unemployment on political trust increasingly negative in objectively more generous welfare states.
... One important difference concerns the coverage and level of social insurance. Russell et al. (2013) found that the superior social security systems in countries associated with the inclusive employment regime category cushioned the impact of the post-2008 economic crisis on unemployed workers. Relatedly, as welfare states influence the extent to which workers' livelihoods are dependent on involvement in paid work, social protections may mitigate the negative financial consequences of involuntary underemployment, with potential consequences for workers' well-being. ...
This paper examines the consequences of underemployment for the well-being of workers in European countries. Previous studies of the impact of underemployment on well-being have tended to focus on a single country or occupational group and have examined single dimensions of underemployment. This paper, by contrast, examines experiences across several European economies and explores two different dimensions of underemployment: the gap between hours of work and workers’ desired hours and the under-utilisation of their skills and abilities. The paper uses data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and explains the consequences of underemployment for well-being by drawing on the international comparative political economy literature, particularly the theorisation and analysis of comparative employment and welfare regimes. We find that while underemployment is generally associated with lower levels of well-being, the nature and strength of relationships between different dimensions of underemployment and well-being vary between employment regimes. The paper also highlights the detrimental consequences of ‘over-employment’ for workers’ well-being and shows that the well-being of women tends to be lower than that of men, regardless of employment regime.
This study analyses the influence of city size on life satisfaction among the Ecuadorian population. It distinguishes rural from urban residents and looks at the effect of environmental management. Using individual and canton-level variables, an ordinal logit model is estimated. Results suggest that individuals living in the most populated cantons report a lower level of life satisfaction. This effect varies for urban and rural residents. Environmental management is positive for life satisfaction.
Purpose
This study aims to explore how coping strategies (CS) mediate the relationship between job insecurity (JI) and subjective well-being (SWB) leading to presenteeism among millennials. This study has been tested based on the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 2001) and the transactional theory of stress and coping (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). In India, employees in the information technology (IT) and business process management sectors have been facing increased job insecurity over the last couple of years. The advent of technology has increased job insecurity among millennials, specifically in the IT sector. The Indian IT and information technology–enabled service (ITES) sector witnessed mass retrenchments by companies in 2016–2017. Instead of reskilling, the companies decided to lay off their employees. During the pandemic, the IT and ITES industries witnessed a massive culture shift in terms of technology and work engagement. Postpandemic, the recession is looming large on these industries. In 2022, tech layoffs have witnessed 135,000 employees impacted globally and many may lose their job in the coming year. This study chose Indian millennials because they form a large part of the Indian workforce, especially in the IT and ITES sector.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, cross-sectional design is used where different individuals are part of the study at the same point in time. A sequential mixed method of research is adopted for this study, owing to the kind of research questions and the requirement to include critical realism. A qualitative study was carried out post the quantitative study, to corroborate the results from the quantitative study. Quantitative methodologies address questions about causality, generalizability or magnitude of outcome, whereas qualitative research methodologies explore why or how a phenomenon occurs, describe the nature of an individual’s experience during the study relevant to the context and/or develop a theory (Fetters et al. , 2013). Because the study is about the millennial workforce in IT and the ITES sectors, the sample population comprised employees in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) of Delhi in northern India. Out of a total of 374 ITES companies listed in the national association of software and service companies (2018), 103 are based out of Delhi/NCR; hence, companies from Delhi/NCR were chosen for the study. The other reason for opting for companies based in Delhi/NCR was that many millennials from second- and third-tier cities also are employed in these companies bringing in varied cultural perspectives. This study included 588 employees working in ITES organizations based in the National Capital Region of India. Mediation analysis for statistical verification was carried out with regression-based analysis in SPSS macro process (version 4).
Findings
The impact of job insecurity on the positive and negative affects of the subjective well-being of millennials was found to be substantial. Coping strategies moderated the relationship and it was seen that both engaged and disengaged strategies of coping had an impact on the positive affect of subjective well-being but did not have any impact on the negative affect of subjective well-being. The positive affect of subjective well-being was negatively related to presenteeism, and the negative affect of subjective well-being was positively related to presenteeism.
Research limitations/implications
This study is carried out only in the ITES industry and on millennials. With the advent of technology, other industries are going through challenges concerning layoffs even though the severity of the same might be less. In times to come, for strategizing employee engagement, it is necessary to understand how the workforce copes with various work-related stress factors. The positive affects and negative affects of well-being and responses have been studied from an employee perspective only. Further research should be conducted to explore responses from both employers and employees to establish presenteeism and the antecedents of presenteeism in conjunction with positive and negative affects of well-being. There is further scope to study the impact of job insecurity on adaptive presenteeism in older generations and various industries given the current job scenario and talent-reskilling issues.
Practical implications
This study brings forth original insights into the impact of constant job threats on millennials employed in the IT and/or IT service sectors. The key findings contribute to literature knowledge and help managers recognize the unfavorable consequences of continuous job threats on the well-being of employees. There is an immediate need for managers to recognize the problem and devise various policies and communication strategies to enable millennial employees to cope with the constant changes in the organization, owing to various technological, political and environmental factors. Organizations should be mindful of this impact, which can subsequently have serious consequences on the productivity of the employees, resulting in decreased overall performance and health of the organization.
Originality/value
This study of job insecurity as a job stressor, triggering coping strategies in Indian millennials working in the ITES and IT industry, presents original insights. This study explores and presents how the impact of job insecurity may increase presenteeism as a result of coping. This study brings value to practitioners and this study may help organizations improve the overall well-being of their employees, thus improving productivity. On the contrary, it also opens opportunities for exploring the impact of job insecurity as a challenge stressor.
Bu çalışma işsizlerin sosyo-demografik özellikleri ve yaşadıkları hane özellikleri ile yaşam doyumu düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma nicel araştırma deseninde kesitsel tarama yönteminde yürütülen Dünya Değerler Araştırmasının dört (2001-2007-2011-2018) dalgasından elde edilen verilerin analizi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunda 650 işsiz yer almaktadır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, işsizlerin cinsiyet ve eğitim düzeylerine göre yaşam doyumu puanları fark oluşturmamaktadır. İşsizler arasında orta yaş grubundaki ve medeni durumuna göre evli olanların yaşam doyumu puanları daha düşüktür. Bireylerin gelir düzeyi ve algılanan sağlık ile yaşam doyumu puanları arasında pozitif korelasyon tespit edilmiştir. Sahip olunan çocuk sayısı arttıkça ve algılanan sosyal sınıf düştükçe yaşam doyumu puanları azalmaktadır. Araştırmanın bulguları işsizlere yönelik psikososyal destek hizmetlerinin içeriğine katkı vermesi beklenmektedir.
The validity of self‐report measures of subjective well‐being (SWB) was examined and compared with non‐self‐report measures using a sample of 136 college students studied over the course of a semester. A principal axis factor analysis of self‐ and non‐self‐report SWB measures revealed a single unitary construct underlying the measures. Conventional single‐item and multi‐item self‐report measures correlated highly with alternative measures, with theoretical correlates of SWB, and with a principal axis factor underlying five non‐self‐report measures of well‐being. Comparisons of family versus friend informant reports demonstrated the considerable cross‐situational consistency and temporal stability of SWB. Evidence of the discriminant validity of the measures was provided by low correlations of the various SWB measures with constructs theoretically unrelated to well‐being. It was concluded that conventional self‐report instruments validly measure the SWB construct, and that alternative, non‐serf‐report measures are useful for providing a comprehensive theoretical account of happiness and life satisfaction.
Publisher Summary
This chapter discusses the association of income and happiness. The basic data consist of statements by individuals on their subjective happiness, as reported in thirty surveys from 1946 through 1970, covering nineteen countries, including eleven in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Within countries, there is a noticeable positive association between income and happiness—in every single survey, those in the highest status group were happier, on the average, than those in the lowest status group. However, whether any such positive association exists among countries at a given time is uncertain. Certainly, the happiness differences between rich and poor countries that one might expect on the basis of the within-country differences by economic status are not borne out by the international data. Similarly, in the one national time series studied, for the United States since 1946, higher income was not systematically accompanied by greater happiness. As for why national comparisons among countries and over time show an association between income and happiness that is so much weaker than, if not inconsistent with, that shown by within-country comparisons, a Duesenberry-type model, involving relative status considerations as an important determinant of happiness, is suggested.
This paper compares the unemployment problem in Britain and in Spain. The risk of unemployment is greater in Spain and the social security system to support the unemployed less comprehensive than in the UK. The unemployed in both countries suffer lower psychological wellbeing than the employed in the same country, but there are surprising differences when comparisons are made between the British and Spanish unemployed. Attempts to fit the results into a general explanatory framework of relative deprivation theory fail. Differences between the two countries in the prevalence of a work ethic seem to be the most likely explanation.
