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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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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, Agnes 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))

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Leoni, Thomas (2021): Sick but at work: Graded sick leave in a comparative perspective. In: Social Policy and Administration, Jg. 55, H. 1, S. 65-81. DOI:10.1111/spol.12612

Abstract

"Measures to activate sick-listed workers and to combine work with sickness benefits are a growing but little-studied policy field. This article investigates graded sick leave benefits in Sweden, Finland and Germany. The analysis reveals some commonalities between countries, as well as substantial differences in terms of institutional background, benefit design and governance. The schemes range from models in which grading has become an integral component of the regular sickness certification process, to models in which the graded-work option is targeted at a much smaller category of workers and has a stronger therapeutic character. The variation in design and governance of the models is reflected in large differences in terms of their diffusion. All schemes face a common set of obstacles and challenges. They relate in particular to the distribution of stakeholders' roles and responsibilities, the involvement of employers and the assessment of residual work ability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Nikolova, Milena, Boris Nikolaev & Christopher Boudreaux (2021): Being Your Own Boss and Bossing Others. The Moderating Effect of Managing Others on Work Meaning and Autonomy for the Self-Employed and Employees. (IZA discussion paper 14909), Bonn, 37 S.

Abstract

"We examine the moderating role of being a supervisor for meaning and autonomy of self-employed and employed workers. We rely on regression analysis applied after entropy balancing based on a nationally representative dataset of over 80,000 individuals in 30 European countries for 2005, 2010, and 2015. We find that being a self-employed supervisor is correlated with more work meaningfulness and autonomy compared with being a salaried supervisor working for an employer. Wage supervisors and self-employed supervisors experience similar stress levels and have similar earnings, though self- employed supervisors work longer hours. Moreover, solo entrepreneurs experience slightly less work meaningfulness, but more autonomy compared with self-employed supervisors. This may be explained by the fact that solo entrepreneurs earn less but have less stress and shorter working hours than self- employed supervisors." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Parteka, Aleksandra, Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz & Dagmara Nikulin (2021): How digital technology affects working conditions in globally fragmented production chains: evidence from Europe. (Working paper series A / GUT Faculty of Management and Economics 66), Gdańsk, 68 S.

Abstract

"This paper uses a sample of over 9.5 million workers from 22 European countries to study the intertwined effects of digital technology and cross-border production links on workers' wellbeing. We compare the social effects of technological change exhibited by three types of innovation: computerisation (software), automation (robots) and artificial intelligence (AI). To fully quantify work-related wellbeing, we propose a new methodology that corrects the information on remuneration by reference to such non-monetary factors as the work environment (physical and social), career development prospects, or work intensity. We show that workers' wellbeing depends on the type of technological exposure. Employees in occupations with high software or robots content face worse working conditions than those exposed to AI. The impact of digitalisation on working conditions depends on participation in global production. To demonstrate this, we estimate a set of augmented models for determination of working conditions, interacting technological factors with Global Value Chain participation. GVC intensification is accompanied by deteriorating working conditions - but only in occupations exposed to robots or software, not in AI-intensive jobs. In other words, we find that AI technologies differ from previous waves of technological progress - also in their impact on workers' wellbeing within global production structures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pega, Frank, Bálint Náfrádi, Natalie C. Momen, Yuka Ujita, Kai N. Streicher, Annette M. Prüss-Üstün, Alexis Descatha, Tim Driscoll, Frida M. Fischer, Lode Godderis, Hannah M. Kiiver, Jian Li, Linda L. Magnusson Hanson, Reiner Rugulies, Kathrine Sørensen & Tracey J. Woodruff (2021): Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000-2016. A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury. In: Environment International, Jg. 154. DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106595

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Reuter, Marvin, Nico Dragano & Morten Wahrendorf (2021): Working while sick in context of regional unemployment: a Europe-wide cross-sectional study. In: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Jg. 75, H. 6, S. 574-580. DOI:10.1136/jech-2020-214888

Abstract

"Background Research suggests that areas with high unemployment have lower rates of sickness absence, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. One assumption is that when unemployment is high people are more likely to work while being sick (discipline hypothesis). Against this background, we investigate the association between regional unemployment and sickness presenteeism. Second, we study interactions with factors of occupational disadvantage. Methods: We combined survey data of 20 974 employees collected 2015 in 232 regions from 35 European countries with data on regional unemployment rates obtained from Eurostat. Presenteeism was assessed by the fraction of days worked while ill among all days with illness (presenteeism propensity). To investigate if unemployment was related to presenteeism, we estimated multi-level models (individuals nested in regions) that were adjusted for socio-demographic and occupational covariates to account for compositional differences of the regions. Results: The mean presenteeism propensity was 34.8 (SD 40.4), indicating that workers chose presenteeism in 1 out of 3 days with sickness. We found that a change in unemployment by +10 percentage points was associated with a change in presenteeism by +5 percentage points (95% CI 1.2 to 8.6). This relationship was more pronounced among workers with low salary, low skill-level, and industrial and healthcare workers. Conclusion: Our results support the assumption that high unemployment elevates presenteeism, and that people in disadvantaged occupations are particularly affected. Policies managing presenteeism should consider the labour market context, particularly during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Riekhoff, Aart-Jan, Oxana Krutova & Jouko Nätti (2021): The 24/7 economy and work during unsocial hours in Europe: Examining the influence of labor market dualization, regulation and collective bargaining. In: Economic and Industrial Democracy, Jg. 42, H. 4, S. 1080-1104. DOI:10.1177/0143831X19846330

Abstract

"This article examines the individual- and country-level factors that contribute to the risk of working unsocial hours in 30 European countries. Using the EU labor force survey data, the authors test for the influence of labor market dualization, product- and labor market regulation, and collective bargaining on the individual risk of working unsocial hours. The risks of working unsocial hours are strongly dualized in all countries, but the size of the risk gap between low-skilled outsiders and high-skilled insiders varies. In countries where collective bargaining plays a greater role in regulating work hours the gap between low- and high-skilled workers is smaller." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))