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Győri, Ágnes, Éva Perpék & Szilvia Ádám (2025): Mental health risk in human services work across Europe: the predictive role of employment in various sectors. In: Frontiers in Public Health, Jg. 12. DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1407998

Abstract

"Background: Human services occupations are highly exposed to mental health risks, thus psychosocial risk management is critical to assure healthy and safe working conditions, promote mental health and commitment, and prevent fluctuation of employees. However, still little is known about prominent psychosocial risk factors in various human services work. Objectives: To identify prominent psychosocial risk factors of mental health in human services occupations and to explore their individual and organizational correlates in 19 European countries. Methods: Cross-sectional survey using data from the European Union's Labor Force Survey among 379,759 active employees in 19 European countries. First, a descriptive analysis was carried out to establish the prevalence of mental health risk factors. Then sociodemographic correlates of occupational mental health risk factors were assessed by means of Pearson's chi-squared test. Finally, correlations were explored between perceived psychosocial risk factors and human vs. non-human services occupations, as well as contextual variables by applying multilevel logistic and multinomial regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of mental health risk was 45.1%. Work overload (19.9%), dealing with difficult clients (10.2%), and job insecurity (5.8%) were the most prevalent mental health risk factors among European employees. We identified significant differences in the prevalence of mental health risks and specific mental health risk factors among employees according to sex, age, and educational attainment. The prevalence of mental health risks was significantly higher among women (47.0%, man: 43.3%), workers aged 35–50 years (47.5%, >50: 44.4%, <35: 42.3%), and those with the higher level of education (51.9%, secondary with diploma: 42.6%, elementary: 36.2%). Employees working in healthcare in Northern Europe were most likely to be exposed to mental health risks (AME = 0.717). Working in healthcare in Northern Europe was the strongest predictor of reporting work overload (AME = 0.381). Working in social care in Central and Eastern Europe was the strongest predictor of reporting dealing with difficult clients (AME = 0.303) as the most prevalent mental health risk factor. Conclusion: Understanding the impact of employment in specific human services occupations on mental health and its specific occupational stressors are vital to improve mental health and safety at work and maintain high quality services." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Fana, Marta, Fernanda Bárcia De Mattos, Valeria Esquivel, Guendalina Anzolin, David Kucera & Sheeba Tejani (2024): The effects of automation in the apparel and automotive sectors and their gender dimensions. (JRC science for policy report 136639), Brüssel, 66 S.

Abstract

"This report is the final output of a research project investigating the effects of automation on employment in the automotive, apparel and footwear industries in five countries, namely Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Romania, and Spain. The main objective of this project has been to improve our understanding of how ongoing processes of technological upgrading, particularly automation, impact women's and men's employment and work in these industries. Our findings suggest that, in the short term, close to the introduction of new automation technology, the impact on employment takes the form of reassignment of workers directly involved in automated processes to other positions, tasks, and occupations. This study also explored the impact of automation in terms of work organization and working conditions. Across the case studies, it emerged that the adoption of automation technologies has reduced heavy and repetitive tasks and improved health and safety for workers directly concerned by automation. Another interesting and related common finding is the reduction of workers' autonomy who are now subject to more standardization of tasks together with an ongoing process of deskilling of operators. Finally, in the apparel and footwear sector, we did not find evidence of defeminisation at the establishment level as well as the automotive factories remains highly male-dominated. Cultural norms and stereotypes which influence not only the jobs women and men apply to and get hired for, but also which training and education they engage in, contribute to this gender segregation in both sectors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gut, Vanessa, Sonja Feer & Isabel Baumann (2024): A resource-oriented perspective on the aging workforce – exploring job resource profiles and their associations with various health indicators. In: BMC public health, Jg. 24, H. 1. DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-20098-4

Abstract

"Background: Promoting older workers’ health in the context of increasing labor force participation and skill shortages is crucial. Examining job resource profiles offers a promising approach to understanding how to promote and maintain the health of older workers within the workplace. However, it is unclear how different job resources interact within distinct worker subgroups. Thus, this study explores the association between the job resource profiles of distinct subgroups and various health indicators among older workers in Europe. Methods: Data from 4,079 older workers (age range: 50–60 years, 57% female) from waves 6 and 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analyzed. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify distinct job resource profiles using social support, recognition, job promotion, autonomy, and development opportunities. Associations between these profiles and various health indicators were examined, alongside the sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with each profile. Results: Four distinct job resource profiles emerged: (I) average job resource workers (n = 2170, 53%), (II) high social job resource workers (n = 983, 24%), (III) low job resource workers (n = 538, 13%), and (IV) autonomous decision-making workers (n = 388, 10%). Workers in the (II) high social job resource profile had the highest socioeconomic status and reported the best self-perceived health, lowest depressive symptoms, and fewest limitations and chronic diseases. Conversely, workers in the (III) low job resource profile had the second-lowest socioeconomic status and reported the poorest health outcomes. Surprisingly, older workers with high autonomy (profile IV) had the lowest socioeconomic status and the second worst self-perceived health. This may be because they perceive themselves as autonomous while lacking support and recognition. Conclusion: There is wide variation in the level and composition of resources available to older workers in the workplace. The most vulnerable subgroups, such as low job resource workers (profile III) and autonomous decision-making workers (profile IV), could benefit from tailored workplace health promotion interventions, such as support from supervisors or peers. Strengthening older workers’ job resources, including social support and recognition, can improve their health and contribute to them remaining in the workforce." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Hilgert, Jeffrey (2024): Safety and health at work as fundamental rights: A comparative-historical study of the ILO's strategy of realistic vigilance. In: International Labour Review, Jg. 163, H. 1, S. 95-115. DOI:10.1111/ilr.12401

Abstract

"This article is a comparative-historical study of ILO action on safety and health as fundamental rights. In the two decades after the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the ILO used a realist lens and prioritized the idea that safety and health were dependent upon economic preconditions for their protection. Given the new complex of global health uncertainty and the addition of safety and health to the framework of fundamental principles and rights at work, this history is revisited. Implications are discussed for the ILO supervision of coherence in national occupational safety and health policy." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Irvine, Annie & Nikolas Rose (2024): How Does Precarious Employment Affect Mental Health? A Scoping Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence from Western Economies. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 38, H. 2, S. 418-441. DOI:10.1177/09500170221128698

Abstract

"This article offers a scoping review and thematic synthesis of qualitative research on the relationship between precarious employment and mental health. Systematic searches of primary qualitative research in western economies, focused on insecure contracts and a broad conceptualisation of mental health, identified 32 studies. Thematic synthesis revealed four core experiences of precarious employment: financial instability, temporal uncertainty, marginal status and employment insecurity, each connected with multiple, interrelated experiences/responses at four thematic levels: economic, socio-relational, behavioural and physical, leading to negative mental health effects. Reported mental health outcomes could be predominantly understood as reductions in ‘positive mental health’. Findings are theoretically located in models of work-family conflict and latent deprivation; insecure work constrains access to benefits of time structure, social contacts, social purposes, status and identity, which correlate with psychological wellbeing. Frequently failing also to provide the manifest (financial) benefits of work, insecure employment poses mental health risks on both fronts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Joffe, Michael (2024): Evaluating Economic Success. Happiness, Health, and Basic Human Needs. (Wellbeing in Politics and Policy), Cham: Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, XV, 116 S. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-57671-3

Abstract

"“Economics aims to be the study of making people's lives better, but the focus has for too long been too narrow. This book makes a compelling case for measures of economic progress that go beyond GDP growth to put human wellbeing firmly in the spotlight, setting out a new system for assessing success.” -- Dame Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge, UK “Michael Joffe's book complements the growing criticisms to GDP as the sole (or main) metric to measure economic success with new outcome indicators that measure attainment of human needs and well-being. From this point of view, it is not only a step forward in the direction of overcoming the old and counterproductive economic metrics, but it puts forward a practical, actionable approach to measuring economic “growth” in a completely different way. I hope this book will have the reception it deserves, as a clear theoretical essay and a source of concrete and novel metrics for economics based on human needs”. -- Paolo Vineis, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, UK This open access book argues that a new policy approach is required in order to tackle the numerous problems the world is currently facing. The priority should be on achieving better outcomes for people, especially those facing deprivation or precariousness, by meeting their basic needs. In order to achieve this, the book develops a monitoring system that can act as an objective, an incentive, and a criterion of success for policy makers at all levels of government and in civil society, as well as providing information to guide specific actions. In doing so, the book aims to promote good health and positive social functioning by providing a new approach to help assess how well basic human needs are being met. This involves monitoring the outcomes of the economy that ought to satisfy these needs. It will appeal to all those interested in public policy, official statistics and monitoring, public health and wellbeing, as well as practitioners. Michael Joffe is affiliated with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, UK. He writes on topics in economics. ." (Provided by publisher)

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Parent-Thirion, Agnès, Tina Weber & Jorge Cabrita (2024): Working conditions and sustainable work. Job quality side of climate change. (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 62 S.

Abstract

"Climate change will have a profound impact not only on living conditions but also on Europe’s labour markets, working conditions and job quality. To understand the implications of climate change for working life, it is important to distinguish between its direct impact and the impact of climate change policies. This report aims to contribute to the discussion by examining national-level research and debate on the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on job quality, in particular in occupations likely to be impacted by greening." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Riso, Sara (2024): Workplace bullying, harassment and cyberbullying: Are regulations and policies fit for purpose? (Eurofound research report / European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions), Dublin, 47 S. DOI:10.2806/8853437

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Bertoni, Marco, Giorgio Brunello & Filippo Da Re (2023): Pension reforms, longer working horizons and depression. Does the risk of automation matter? In: Labour Economics, Jg. 85. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102447

Abstract

"We investigate the effect of postponing minimum retirement age on middle-aged workers’ depression. Using pension reforms in several European countries and data from the SHARE survey, we find that depression increases with a longer work horizon, but only among workers in occupations with a relatively high risk of automation. We explain our results with the higher job insecurity associated with occupations that are more exposed to automation, and rule out alternatives, including pension wealth effects and the differential exposure of occupations to the business cycle." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Cottini, Elena, Paolo Ghinetti, Elisabetta Iossa & Pierluigi Sacco (2023): Stress, effort, and incentives at work. In: Oxford economic papers, Jg. 75, H. 2, S. 325-345. DOI:10.1093/oep/gpac021

Abstract

"An extensive medical and occupational-health literature finds that an imbalance between effort and reward is an important stressor which produces serious health consequences. We incorporate these effects in a simple agency model with moral hazard and limited liability and study the impact on agents’ effort and utility, as well as incentive pay provision, assuming agents differ in stress susceptibility. We test main model’s implications using the 2015 wave of the European Working Condition Survey. We find that individuals who are more susceptible to stress work harder and have lower subjective well-being. The likelihood of receiving incentive pay is not monotone in stress susceptibility." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Zacchia, Giulia & Izaskun Zuazu (2023): The Wage Effect of Workplace Sexual Harassment: Evidence for Women in Europe. (Working papers / Institute for New Economic Thinking 205), Institute for New Economic Thinking 27 S. DOI:10.36687/inetwp205

Abstract

"This article contributes to the literature on wage discrimination by examining the consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace on wages for women in Europe. We model the empirical relationship between sexual harassment risk and wages for European women employees using individual-level data provided by the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS, Eurostat). We find that sexual harassment risk has a negative and statistically significant effect on wages of -0.03% on average for women in Europe. However, our empirical analysis uncovers the importance of considering the dynamics of workplace power relations: analyzing individual-level data, we find evidence of a higher negative impact of sexual harassment risk on wages for women working in counter-stereotypical occupations. We conclude that the wage effect of hostile working conditions, mainly in terms of sexual harassment risk in the workplace, should be considered and monitored as a first critical step in making women be less vulnerable at work and increasing their bargaining power, thereby reducing inequalities in working conditions and pay in Europe." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bogliacino, Francesco, Cristiano Codagnone, Frans Folkvord & Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva (2022): The impact of labour market shocks on mental health. Evidence from the COVID-19 first wave. (SocArXiv papers), 33 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/wx9d4

Abstract

"In this study, we estimate the effect of a negative labour market shock on individuals’ levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. We use a dataset collected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, on a representative sample of citizens from Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, interviewed on three occasions. We measure stress, anxiety and depression and labour shocks using validated scales. Our research design is a standard differences-in-differences model: we leverage the differential timing of shocks to identify the impact on mental health. In our estimations, a negative labour shock increases the measure of stress, anxiety, and depression by 16% of a standard deviation computed from the baseline." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cazes, Sandrine, Clara Krämer, Sebastien Martin & Chloé Touzet (2022): Well-being, productivity and employment: Squaring the working time policy circle. In: A. Bassanini (Hrsg.) (2022): OECD Employment Outlook 2022: Building Back More Inclusive Labour Markets, S. 243-350.

Abstract

"Working time is both a key element of workers’ lives and a production factor. Understanding how working time policy relates to well-being and economic outcomes is thus crucial to design measures balancing welfare and efficiency concerns. Evidence so far has largely focused on the use of maximum hours’ regulation to prevent detrimental effects on workers’ health, and the effect of normal hours reductions on employment levels. This chapter brings two new perspectives: first, it accounts for the fact that workers’ well-being is an increasingly central societal objective of working time policies, and therefore considers well-being effects alongside productivity and employment effects. Second, it accounts for the use of flexible hours and the development of teleworking in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and considers their impact on well-being, productivity and employment. Building on these analyses, the chapter discusses the potential of various working time policies to enhance non-material aspects of workers’ well-being such as health, work-life balance and life satisfaction while preserving employment or productivity" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Curtarelli, Maurizio (2022): Sicherheit und Gesundheit für eine vielfältige Erwerbsbevölkerung. In: DGUV-Forum, Jg. 14, H. 4, S. 25-30.

Abstract

"Der Ausdruck „Vielfalt in der Erwerbsbevölkerung“ bezieht sich auf die heterogene Zusammensetzung der Belegschaft in Bezug auf soziodemografische und physische Merkmale der Arbeitskräfte. Diese geht häufig mit schlechteren Arbeitsbedingungen und einer erhöhten Gefährdung der Sicherheit und des Gesundheitsschutzes am Arbeitsplatz einher." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Di Novi, Cinzia, Paolo Paruolo & Stefano Verzillo (2022): The Role of Employment Protection Legislation Regimes in Shaping the Impact of Job Disruption on Older Workers' Mental Health in Times of COVID-19. (JRC working papers in economics and finance 2022,02), Brüssel, 32 S.

Abstract

"This study exploits individual data from the 8th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the SHARE Corona Survey to investigate the mental health consequences of COVID-19 job disruption across different European countries. It focuses on older workers (aged 50 and over) who were exposed to a higher risk of infection from COVID-19 and were also more vulnerable to the risk of long-term unemployment and permanent labour market exits during economic downturns. The relationship between job disruption in times of COVID-19 and older workers' mental health is investigated using differences in country-level employment legislation regimes in the EU. European countries are clustered into three macro-regions with high, intermediate and low employment regulatory protection regulations, using the Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) aggregate score proposed by the OECD. Results reveal a clear EPL gradient: job disruption has a positive and significant impact on older workers' psychological distress especially in those countries where EPL is more binding. The present findings suggest possible mitigating measures for older unemployed in the EU countries with higher Employment Protection legislation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nekoei, Arash (2022): Will Markets Provide Humane Jobs? A Hypothesis. (CESifo working paper 9533), München, 37 S.

Abstract

"Most of the key amenities of our today jobs did not emerge in private contracts; instead, they appeared in collective agreements and regulations. I argue that understanding this observation can guide the provision of future amenities. I show that markets underprovide an amenity if workers who value it more have a lower average unobserved productivity. Universal mandate of such amenities improves social welfare when taste-productivity correlation is high. Policies that leverage heterogeneity in the taste-productivity correlation by observable characteristics, e.g., quota and tagging, dominate mandate in the presence of a mild adverse selection." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Nikulin, Dagmara, Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz & Aleksandra Parteka (2022): Working Conditions in Global Value Chains: Evidence for European Employees. In: Work, Employment and Society, Jg. 36, H. 4, S. 701-721. DOI:10.1177/0950017020986107

Abstract

"This article investigates a sample of almost nine million workers from 24 European countries in 2014 to conclude how involvement in global value chains (GVCs) affects working conditions. We use employer–employee data from the Structure of Earnings Survey merged with industry-level statistics on GVCs based on the World Input-Output Database. Given the multidimensional nature of the dependent variable, we compare estimates of the Mincerian wage model with zero-inflated beta regressions focused on other aspects of working conditions (overtime work and bonus payments). Wages prove to be negatively related to involvement in GVCs: workers in the more deeply involved sectors have lower and less stable earnings, implying worse working conditions. However, they are also less likely to have to work overtime. We prove that the analysis of social implications of increasing involvement of countries in global production must compare wage effects of GVCs with other aspects of complex changes in workers’ well-being." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bertoni, Marco, Danilo Cavapozzi, Giacomo Pasini & Caterina Pavese (2021): Remote Working and Mental Health during the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic. (IZA discussion paper 14773), Bonn, 26 S.

Abstract

"We use longitudinal data from the SHARE survey to estimate the causal effect of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of senior Europeans. We face endogeneity concerns both for the probability of being employed during the pandemic and for the choice of different work arrangements conditional on employment. Our research design overcomes these issues by exploiting variation in the technical feasibility of remote working across occupations and in the legal restrictions to in-presence work across sectors. We estimate heterogeneous effects of remote working on mental health: we find negative effects for respondents with children at home and for those living in countries with low restrictions or low excess death rates due to the pandemic. On the other hand, the effect is positive for men and for respondents with no co-residing children." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Biletta, Isabella, Jorge Cabrita, Franz Eiffe, Barbara Gerstenberger, Agnès Parent-Thirion, Oscar Vargas & Tina Weber (2021): Working conditions and sustainable work. An analysis using the job quality framework. (Eurofound flagship report), Dublin, 72 S. DOI:10.2806/938302

Abstract

"This flagship report summarises the key findings of Eurofound’s research on working conditions conducted over the programming period 2017–2020. It maps the progress achieved since 2000 in improving working conditions and examines whether all workers have benefited equally from positive change. It highlights which groups are the most at risk of experiencing poor working conditions and being left behind. Given the changes in the world of work, emerging challenges for good job quality are identified. The report also provides evidence for measures that could lead to the further improvement of work and the achievement of fair working conditions for all in the EU. The analysis shows that, overall, job quality in the EU is improving, if slowly. Not all workers are benefiting to the same extent, however. Furthermore, gender, age and contractual status have a significant bearing on a person’s working conditions. And while digitalisation helps to address some job quality issues, it also creates new challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated trends, reinforcing concerns and highlighting the importance of achieving job quality for all." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Checchi, Daniele, Alessandra Fenizia & Claudio Lucifora (2021): Public Sector Jobs: Working in the Public Sector in Europe and the US. (IZA discussion paper 14514), Bonn, 38 S.

Abstract

"This paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical work on public employment management and presents novel stylized facts on public sector jobs. In the first part, we examine the evolution of managerial practices in the public sector and discuss the contractual arrangement of public sector workers and the labor market institutions that are prevalent in this setting. We argue that, for public sector employees, standard incentive schemes have a low power and are generally less effective than in the private sector. In the second part, we use two international surveys (6th European Working Conditions Survey, covering 28 European countries, and 2nd American Working Conditions Survey for the United States) to investigate selection into public sector employment, public-private pay differentials, and differences in working conditions in Europe and the US. While in Europe the public-private earning gap is positive for low-skilled workers and turns negative for skilled individuals, the gap is negative and relatively flat over the skill distribution in the US. We also document a positive public-private earnings differential in healthcare and education services in Europe, and a negative differential, though not statistically significant, in the US. We find that, in the US, two out of three public sector employees are exposed to some performance-related pay scheme, while in Europe is less than one in four. We do not find evidence that the public sector ensures a fairer work environment, as instances of harassment, discrimination, and obnoxious behavior are widespread." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))