Wellbeing – wie Lebensqualität, Arbeit und Einkommen zusammenhängen
Das Streben nach Glück ist ein zentrales Element im Leben, wobei das individuelle Wohlbefinden sowohl persönliche als auch gesellschaftliche Ursachen hat. Welchen Einfluss haben Wirtschaftsentwicklung, Einkommen, der berufliche Werdegang oder Arbeitslosigkeitserfahrungen auf die subjektive Lebensqualität eines Menschen?
Dieses Themendossier bietet hierzu aktuelle Literatur und Projekthinweise.
Im Filter „Autorenschaft“ können Sie auf IAB-(Mit-)Autorenschaft eingrenzen.
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Literaturhinweis
Differential Life Satisfaction in a German Representative Sample (2025)
Zitatform
Arnold, Christopher & Beate Muschalla (2025): Differential Life Satisfaction in a German Representative Sample. In: International journal of environmental research and public health, Jg. 22, H. 1. DOI:10.3390/ijerph22010105
Abstract
"Life satisfaction includes various aspects, such as satisfaction with work, family, environment, and finances, and is influenced by sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. This representative study investigates differential life satisfaction in the general population and its associations with sociodemographics. The study used a cross-sectional design with 2522 German participants, collected via face-to-face interviews and three-stage random sampling, assessing satisfaction across 17 life areas with the Differential Life Burden Scale. Overall life satisfaction was high (M = 4.46, scale from 1 to 6). Although globally satisfied, most participants (84.2%) named at least one negative area of life. Politics and environment were perceived as dissatisfying (M = 3.1; M = 3.81, respectively); social contacts and leisure time were evaluated as rather satisfying (M about 5.00). Age, income, and unemployment were associated with life satisfaction. Gender and age were differently associated with life domains: Older people were less satisfied with their health. Younger people were more satisfied with leisure time. Younger were less satisfied with their children than older participants. The German population is generally satisfied with life, though factors like age, unemployment, and income influence the number of negatively perceived life domains. This highlights the importance of evaluating specific life areas in addition to overall life satisfaction for a more comprehensive understanding." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Einsamkeit in Deutschland: die gefährdetste Gruppe sind Menschen mit niedrigem Einkommen (2025)
Entringer, Theresa; Stacherl, Barbara; Kumrow, Linda;Zitatform
Entringer, Theresa, Linda Kumrow & Barbara Stacherl (2025): Einsamkeit in Deutschland: die gefährdetste Gruppe sind Menschen mit niedrigem Einkommen. In: DIW-Wochenbericht, Jg. 92, H. 5, S. 59-67. DOI:10.18723/diw_wb:2025-5-1
Abstract
"Einsamkeit stellt ein ernstzunehmendes Gesundheitsrisiko dar. Sie beeinträchtigt die Lebensqualität und kann sogar die Lebensdauer verkürzen. Diese Studie untersucht Einsamkeit in Deutschland basierend auf den aktuellen Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) zur Einsamkeit aus dem Jahr 2021. Die Analysen beleuchten die Verbreitung verschiedener Facetten von Einsamkeit (Alleinsein, Isolation, Ausgeschlossenheit) sowie regionale Unterschiede und besonders betroffene Personengruppen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich 19 Prozent der in Deutschland lebenden Menschen manchmal oder häufiger einsam fühlen. Vor der Pandemie waren es lediglich 14 Prozent. Regionale Unterschiede existieren ohne das Ost-West-Muster, das in früheren Studien zu erkennen war: Im Westen und Süden Deutschlands kommt jetzt das Gefühl, Gesellschaft zu vermissen, häufiger vor als im Osten. Besonders einsam sind Menschen mit einem Einkommen, das unterhalb des Medians liegt, vor allem wenn sie dazu männlich sind und einen Migrationshintergrund haben. Aufklärungskampagnen und Maßnahmen, die zur Prävention von Einsamkeit angesichts der Gesundheitsrisiken erforderlich sind, sollten diese Befunde berücksichtigen und zielgerichtet erfolgen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Englische Version -
Literaturhinweis
The reciprocal within‐person relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction: Testing loss and gain spirals with two large‐scale longitudinal studies (2025)
Zitatform
Jiang, Lixin, Xiaohong Xu, Elena Zubielevitch & Chris G. Sibley (2025): The reciprocal within‐person relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction: Testing loss and gain spirals with two large‐scale longitudinal studies. In: International review of applied psychology, Jg. 74, H. 1. DOI:10.1111/apps.12599
Abstract
"Deriving from the loss and gain spirals of conservation of resources (COR) theory, this research attempts to understand the within-person, reciprocal relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction. Using three independent samples from seven-wave, five-wave, and 21-wave annually collected data from New Zealand and Australia, and random intercept cross-lagged panel models, we find that (1) job insecurity has a negative concurrent relationship with life satisfaction at the between-person level; (2) job insecurity at an earlier time point has a negative relationship with life satisfaction and a positive relationship with job insecurity at a later time point, indicating that individuals facing an initial threat of resource losses are more prone to further resource depletion, supporting “loss spirals” in COR theory; and (3) life satisfaction at an earlier time point has a positive relationship with life satisfaction at a later time point, supporting “gain spiral” in COR theory. However, life satisfaction is not longitudinally related to job insecurity at a later time point, failing to support the reverse causality. By rigorously investigating the reciprocal within-person relationship between job insecurity and life satisfaction with two large-scale panel data sets, these findings strongly support the loss and gain spirals from COR theory." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Examining interindividual differences in unemployment-related changes in subjective well-being: The role of psychological well-being and re-employment expectations (2025)
Zitatform
Lawes, Mario, Clemens Hetschko, Ronnie Schöb, Gesine Stephan & Michael Eid (2025): Examining interindividual differences in unemployment-related changes in subjective well-being: The role of psychological well-being and re-employment expectations. In: European Journal of Personality, Jg. 39, H. 1, S. 24-45., 2024-01-21. DOI:10.1177/08902070241231315
Abstract
"This study examined whether the six trait-like dimensions of psychological well-being (e.g., autonomy and environmental mastery) moderate the effects of unemployment on various facets of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, satisfaction with life domains, and experienced mood). Further, re-employment expectations during unemployment were investigated as a moderator in this context. The study is based on monthly panel data (Nobservations > 23,000) of two samples of initially employed German jobseekers, who either registered as jobseekers due to (i) mass layoffs or plant closures (N = 552) or (ii) other reasons (N = 988). The results indicate substantial interindividual differences in unemployment-related changes across all examined subjective well-being facets. However, dimensions of psychological well-being did generally not moderate these changes. Only in one unemployment context, environmental mastery was positively related to unemployment-related mood changes. Good re-employment expectations were related to increases in several well-being facets (e.g., leisure satisfaction) compared to being employed, whereas poor re-employment expectations were associated with particularly detrimental effects of unemployment in terms of life satisfaction. Overall, the study provides further evidence that (perceived) contextual features of unemployment seem to be particularly relevant for how individuals experience unemployment, whereas internal (coping) resources only seem to play a negligible role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Semiparametric Bayesian estimation in an ordinal probit model with application to life satisfaction across countries, age and gender (2025)
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Tobias, Justin L. & Timothy N. Bond (2025): Semiparametric Bayesian estimation in an ordinal probit model with application to life satisfaction across countries, age and gender. In: Journal of econometrics. DOI:10.1016/j.jeconom.2024.105917
Abstract
"We employ a novel semiparametric Bayesian ordinal probit model to re-examine the relationships between age and life satisfaction (“happiness”) across countries and gender. Within our ordinal choice framework we introduce a new scheme for cutpoint simulation and develop a locally adaptive method for smoothing an otherwise erratic collection of age dummy variable coefficients. We find strong evidence that employment status is deeply intertwined with the reported happiness of men, that employment status is relatively more important for men than it is for women, and that the common use of quadratic models to report ages when happiness is minimized can produce inference that is inaccurate and misleadingly precise. We also find evidence that refines the “U”-shaped pattern between age and happiness that has been reported and/or debated in this literature: For men in most of the European countries we consider, happiness is found to rise sharply before traditional retirement age and then into the beginning of retirement, followed by a flattening or decline in the right-tail of the age distribution. Often-used models that are quadratic in age fail to reproduce this pattern and are frequently at odds with the data." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Happy Work, Happy Life? A Replication and Comparison of the Longitudinal Effects Between Job and Life Satisfaction Using Continuous Time Meta‐Analysis (2025)
Wiese, Christopher W. ; Chen, Job; Wille, Bart ; Li, Yuhua; Tay, Louis ; Moran, Lauren H.; Dormann, Christian ; Vaziri, Hoda ;Zitatform
Wiese, Christopher W., Christian Dormann, Hoda Vaziri, Louis Tay, Bart Wille, Job Chen, Lauren H. Moran & Yuhua Li (2025): Happy Work, Happy Life? A Replication and Comparison of the Longitudinal Effects Between Job and Life Satisfaction Using Continuous Time Meta‐Analysis. In: Journal of organizational behavior, S. 1-25. DOI:10.1002/job.2861
Abstract
"Capturing the evolving journey of workers' well-being, our research unveils how the intertwined paths of job and life satisfaction shift and shape each other over time. We contribute to the field's understanding of the dynamic interplay between job and life satisfaction by exploring the time-bound nature of satisfaction, teasing apart the between- and within-person effects, and uncovering the relative strengths of these effects. Our findings (k = 28; N = 161 412) suggest that (1) job and life satisfaction are related to one another over time, (2) life satisfaction has a stronger effect (+32%) on future job satisfaction than the converse, (3) these effects peak around 17.2 months (between-person effects), and (4) effects peak at shorter intervals of 8.2 months when accounting for unobserved heterogeneity (within-person effects). In the latter case, the differences between the two effects were still significant, but the dominance of life satisfaction shrank from 32% to 8%. This investigation not only bridges critical gaps but also sets a new precedent for future research on the temporal dynamics of well-being, promising to transform theoretical perspectives and practical approaches alike." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Between-Firm Inequality and Informal Social Relations (2025)
Wilmers, Nathan E.; Zhang, Victoria; Tong, Di;Zitatform
Wilmers, Nathan E., Victoria Zhang & Di Tong (2025): Between-Firm Inequality and Informal Social Relations. In: American journal of sociology, Jg. 130, H. 5, S. 1217-1262. DOI:10.1086/734909
Abstract
"Employer investment, social closure, peer networks: substantial research highlights differences in informal social structure across workplaces. Yet studies of pay inequality between firms have largely neglected these differences in favor of more easily measurable features like firm size or ownership structure. We show how three types of workplace social relations shape firm pay setting: employer relational investment that supports higher wages, social closure as a source of bargaining power, and amenity ties that lock workers into jobs despite low pay. To operationalize these concepts, we draw on text data from a large archive of job reviews. Variance decomposition analyses show that differences in social relations account for up to 20% of overall inequality in between-firm pay premiums and 7% of residual inequality. Differences in informal social organization, and not just formal organization, predict pay differences between firms." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions (2024)
Zitatform
Ahlfeldt, Gabriel, Fabian Bald, Duncan Roth & Tobias Seidel (2024): Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17549), Bonn, 56 S.
Abstract
"Using a quantitative spatial model as a data-generating process, we explore how spatial frictions affect the measurement of quality of life. We find that under a canonical parameterization, mobility frictions - generated by idiosyncratic tastes and local ties - dominate trade frictions - generated by trade costs and non-tradable services - as a source of measurement error in the Rosen-Roback framework. This non-classical measurement error leads to a downward bias in estimates of the urban quality-of-life premium. Our application to Germany reveals that accounting for spatial frictions results in larger quality-of-life differences, different quality-of-life rankings, and an urban quality-of-life premium that exceeds the urban wage premium." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions (2024)
Zitatform
Ahlfeldt, Gabriel, Fabian Bald, Duncan Roth & Tobias Seidel (2024): Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions. (CEPR discussion paper / Centre for Economic Policy Research 19769), London, 56 S.
Abstract
"Using a quantitative spatial model as a data-generating process, we explore how spatial frictions affect the measurement of quality of life. We find that under a canonical parameterization, mobility frictions - generated by idiosyncratic tastes and local ties - dominate trade frictions - generated by trade costs and non-tradable Services - as a source of measurement error in the Rosen-Roback framework. This non-classical measurement error leads to a downward bias in estimates of the urban quality-of-life premium. Our application to Germany reveals that accounting for spatial frictions results in larger quality-of-life differences, different quality-of-life rankings, and an urban quality-of-life premium that exceeds the urban wage premium." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions (2024)
Zitatform
Ahlfeldt, Gabriel, Fabian Bald, Duncan Roth & Tobias Seidel (2024): Measuring quality of life under spatial frictions. (Discussion paper / Berlin School of Economics 0057), Berlin, 56 S. DOI:10.48462/opus4-5676
Abstract
"Using a quantitative spatial model as a data-generating process, we explore how spatial frictions affect the measurement of quality of life. We find that under a canonical parameterization, mobility frictions - generated by idiosyncratic tastes and local ties - dominate trade frictions - generated by trade costs and non-tradable Services - as a source of measurement error in the Rosen-Roback framework. This non-classical measurement error leads to a downward bias in estimates of the urban quality-of-life premium. Our application to Germany reveals that accounting for spatial frictions results in larger quality-of-life differences, different quality-of-life rankings, and an urban quality-of-life premium that exceeds the urban wage premium." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Evening Work and Its Relationship with Couple Time (2024)
Zitatform
Ambiel, Benjamin Samuel, Ingmar Rapp & Jonathan Simon Gruhler (2024): Evening Work and Its Relationship with Couple Time. In: Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Jg. 45, H. 3, S. 621-635. DOI:10.1007/s10834-023-09934-8
Abstract
"This article examines the relationship between couple time and nonstandard working time, in particular evening work, using household-based time use data from Germany. We analyzed three measures of couple time: total time couples spend together, engaged leisure time and other couple time. Engaged leisure includes joint leisure activities and a mutual acknowledgement of the partner's presence, while other couple time includes the performance of different activities or joint unpaid work. The results of multiple OLS-regressions on data from 1957 couples across 5871 diary days strongly suggest that evening work reduces not only total couple time but also specifically engaged leisure time. In contrast, other couple time is less affected by time spent in paid evening work. As engaged leisure time is strongly related to relationship stability and satisfaction, it can be assumed that evening work has negative effects on intimate relationships." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Trade Unions and Life Satisfaction in Germany (2024)
Zitatform
Becker, Björn, Laszlo Goerke & Yue Huang (2024): Trade Unions and Life Satisfaction in Germany. In: BJIR, S. 1-16. DOI:10.1111/bjir.12861
Abstract
"The effects of trade union membership on wages and job satisfaction have been studied extensively. Arguably, life satisfaction serves as a more comprehensive measure of the benefits of union membership and warrants closer examination. Using all relevant waves from the German Socio-Economic Panel between 1985 and 2019, we find a negative correlation between trade union membership and life satisfaction in OLS and FE specifications. The association may arise because union members are more concerned about their job and the economic situation and less satisfied with their work. Social capital and wages also perform as channels between membership and life satisfaction. The negative correlation is more pronounced in settings in which trade unions are relatively weak." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Entrepreneurial worries: Self-employment and potential loss of well-being (2024)
Zitatform
Binder, Martin (2024): Entrepreneurial worries: Self-employment and potential loss of well-being. In: Journal of Economic Psychology, Jg. 105. DOI:10.1016/j.joep.2024.102773
Abstract
"The relationship between self-employment and life satisfaction has been shown to be heterogeneous in the literature. This paper analyzes a channel through which lower well-being can come about for the self-employed, namely, their worries about their business (“entrepreneurial worries”). Using a two-way fixed effects estimator on German panel data (1984–2020), I find no overall effect of becoming self-employed on life satisfaction, and heterogeneity analysis shows that only those self-employed individuals who change from unemployment to self-employment report higher life satisfaction. Mediation analysis reveals that worries about one’s financial situation (and, to some extent, job security) mediate the relationship between self-employment and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction decreases as self-employed individuals worry more about their financial situation as a result of becoming self-employed. Only if one does not worry about one’s financial situation at all does self-employment contributepositively to life satisfaction." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
How perceived well-being determinants differ for immigrants and natives in Italy (2024)
Zitatform
Campolo, Maria Gabriella & Antonino Di Pino Incognito (2024): How perceived well-being determinants differ for immigrants and natives in Italy. In: Quality & quantity, Jg. 58, H. 3, S. 2499-2522. DOI:10.1007/s11135-023-01765-x
Abstract
"Analysts have identified pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors, as well as the role of individual skills, as relevant predictors of perceived well-being of immigrants, but with different and conflicting conclusions. In this study, related to the Italian case, we evaluate the gap in the well-being of immigrants compared to natives in terms of psychological distress and economic conditions. Using the Italian data from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions, we estimated well-being functions in different domains by assuming that the emotional condition of the subjects influences their perceived well-being in both cognitive and community domains. We found that considering different well-being domains helps to better assess the nature of the gap between immigrants and natives." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Lebenslauf, Altersvorsorge und Wohlbefinden: der Einfluss von (Nicht-)Erwerbsbiografien und Rentenanwartschaften auf die Lebenszufriedenheit (2024)
Czaplicki, Christin; Greb, Raphael; Nachtigall, Heike; Heien, Thorsten;Zitatform
Czaplicki, Christin, Raphael Greb, Thorsten Heien & Heike Nachtigall (2024): Lebenslauf, Altersvorsorge und Wohlbefinden: der Einfluss von (Nicht-)Erwerbsbiografien und Rentenanwartschaften auf die Lebenszufriedenheit. In: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Jg. 79, H. 3, S. 191-219.
Abstract
"Angesichts der großen Bedeutung von Aspekten des subjektiven Wohlbefindens ("subjective well-being") für die Beurteilung des Wohlstands eines Landes und der Lebensqualität seiner Bevölkerung werden der bisher ehr vernachlässigte Einfluss der eigenen Altersvorsorge auf die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit sowie die zentrale Rolle von (Nicht-)Erwerbsbiografien in diesem Zusammenhang empirisch untersucht. Auf Basis von Daten der Studie zu "Lebensverläufen und Altersvorsorge" (LeA) zeigt sich, dass Erwerbszeiten und Anwartschaften auf spätere Alterseinkommen tendenziell in einem positiven Zusammenhang und Nichterwerbszeiten in einem negativen Zusammenhang mit der Zufriedenheit stehen. Entsprechende Unterschiede zeigen sich auch für verschiedene Biografietypen. Besonders relevant sind Lebensverläufe und Altersvorsorge für die Zufriedenheit mit dem Einkommen und dem Lebensstandard insgesamt, am wenigsten für die Zufriedenheit mit der Arbeit." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Relative income within the household, gender norms, and well-being (2024)
Zitatform
Gihleb, Rania, Osea Giuntella & Luca Stella (2024): Relative income within the household, gender norms, and well-being. In: PLoS ONE, Jg. 19. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0306180
Abstract
"This study examines the effects of relative household income on individual well-being, mental health, and physical health in Germany. Consistent with previous studies, we document a dip in the distribution of households in which the wife out-earns the husband. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that husbands in couples in which the wife earns just more exhibit lower satisfaction with life, work, and health, and report worse physical health. Women in these couples report lower satisfaction with life and health, and worse mental health. Results on life, work, and health satisfaction among women are more pronounced in West Germany, consistent with previous evidence of gender norm differences between East and West Germany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Does the unemployment rate moderate the well-being disadvantage of the unemployed? Within-region estimates from the European Social Survey (2024)
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Hajdu, Gábor & Tamás Hajdu (2024): Does the unemployment rate moderate the well-being disadvantage of the unemployed? Within-region estimates from the European Social Survey. In: Kyklos, Jg. 77, H. 1, S. 40-56. DOI:10.1111/kykl.12357
Abstract
"Using pooled cross-sectional data (eight waves of the European Social Survey), this work analysed how the regional unemployment rate influences the well-being disadvantages of the unemployed. We estimate region fixed effects and slopes models that, unlike the standard region fixed effects approach, provide an unbiased estimate of the cross-level interaction term (between being unemployed and the unemployment rate) in the absence of unobserved time-variant confounders. The results show that the satisfaction disadvantage of the unemployed (relative to the employed) is larger when the regional unemployment rate is higher. Smaller and insignificant differences were found regarding happiness. These results are in line with the argument that worse re-employment perspectives in high-unemployment regions may be particularly harmful to unemployed people. These results do not contradict the claim that, in regions with a weaker social norm to work, unemployed people may be more satisfied. Instead, they suggest that the unemployment rate does not reflect the social norm to work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Multidimensional work-nonwork balance: are balanced employees productive at work and satisfied with life? (2024)
Zitatform
Hildenbrand, Kristin, Pascale Daher, Anna Topakas & Xiaoyu Gan (2024): Multidimensional work-nonwork balance: are balanced employees productive at work and satisfied with life? In: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Jg. 35, H. 6, S. 1048-1087. DOI:10.1080/09585192.2023.2258335
Abstract
"Given ever increasing work and nonwork demands, achieving work-nonwork (WNW) balance is an important priority for many employees. Scholars have only recently settled on a definition of WNW balance as multidimensional and, as such, our understanding of its antecedents and outcomes is limited. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, we explore how organizations can support employees to achieve WNW balance and whether ‘balanced’ employees are more productive at work and satisfied with life. In detail, we hypothesize that the positive effect of supervisor WNW support (FSS) on employees’ life satisfaction and job performance is mediated by multidimensional WNW balance. We find, across two studies with two waves each, that only the dimension of WNW balance effectiveness and not the dimension of WNW balance satisfaction mediated the relationships between FSS, life satisfaction (Study 1 and 2) and self-rated job performance (Study 1). The relationship between FSS and supervisor-rated job performance (Study 2) was not mediated by either WNW balance dimension. As such, organizations can facilitate WNW balance through FSS, while ‘balanced’ employees seem indeed happier with their life and consider themselves to be better performing at work. We discuss the unexpected finding regarding the superior role of WNW balance effectiveness over WNW balance satisfaction for our outcomes in relation to the conceptualization of WNW balance as multidimensional and delineate important theoretical and practical implications." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Association Between Age and Subjective Economic Hardship Across the Income Distribution in Europe (2024)
Zitatform
Ilmakunnas, Ilari, Joonas Uotinen & Maria Vaalavuo (2024): Association Between Age and Subjective Economic Hardship Across the Income Distribution in Europe. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 173, H. 2, S. 523-542. DOI:10.1007/s11205-024-03351-6
Abstract
"Previous studies have shown that older people are more satisfied with their finances than younger individuals, even when they have a low income. We examine to what extent this can be observed when studying the risk of subjective economic hardship among the adult population in 28 European countries. Our study describes the association between age and the risk of subjective economic hardship and how the association varies by level of income. Additionally, we examine the role of assets and debt in explaining the association. The data come from the 2020 EU-SILC survey and its ad-hoc module on over-indebtedness, consumption, and wealth. We estimate logistic regression models that control for country-level variation. We show that there is substantial variation across Europe regarding how the likelihood of experiencing subjective economic hardship varies by age. The income position of different age groups explains, to a large extent, the different age patterns for hardship across countries. When controlling for country-level variation and level of income, older people are less likely than younger age groups to experience subjective economic hardship. We find indications that older people have a lower risk of subjective economic hardship especially in the lower bottom of the income distribution. Older people's lower risk seems to be largely explained by their more frequent ability to use savings to maintain their standard of living." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Beyond Income: Exploring the Role of Household Wealth for Subjective Well-Being in Germany (2024)
Zitatform
Jantsch, Antje, Julia Le Blanc & Tobias Schmidt (2024): Beyond Income: Exploring the Role of Household Wealth for Subjective Well-Being in Germany. In: Journal of happiness studies, Jg. 25, H. 7. DOI:10.1007/s10902-024-00811-1
Abstract
"An individual's financial situation positively impacts her subjective well-being (SWB) according to the literature. However, most existing studies focus solely on income, neglecting other aspects of an individual's financial situation such as wealth. In this paper, we empirically examine the relationship between SWB, income, household wealth, and its components. Additionally, we explore the significance of one's wealth relative to others' for SWB. Our contribution expands the limited literature on absolute and relative wealth and SWB by utilizing unique microdata from a German wealth survey, the German Panel on Household Finances (PHF). Our findings indicate that both assets and debts, alongside income, are associated with an individual's SWB. In particular, a similar relative increase in financial assets is associated with a greater increase in SWB than the same percentage increase in real assets, and SWB decreases as the level of unsecured debt increases. Furthermore, individuals tend to experience decreased SWB when comparing themselves to others with more assets or less debt. Interestingly, we observe divergent effects of relative wealth on SWB among younger and older individuals. These results underscore the significance of considering wealth, in addition to income, when analyzing determinants of SWB." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))