Abstract

This paper investigates whether workers employed in flexible work arrangements may be worse off in terms of job satisfaction compared to workers with open-ended contracts. The paper argues that it may be misleading to look only at the formal job security provided by different contractual arrangements when accessing job satisfaction. Instead, using longitudinal data for Germany, the paper shows that it is not the formal but the perceived job security which matters for job satisfaction. Moreover, the paper reveals that albeit the type of contract and the motivation to accept a specific employment arrangement might be fundamentally different, workers value work place characteristics in a similar way.