Abstract

The health consequences of unemployment have been widely researched. In contrast, there is a lack of research explicitly devoted to the health effects of precarious employment. Public opinion and politics have been discussing precarious employment for several years. Precariousness, according to the tenor, is characterized by long-term occupational insecurity for the employees. In the theoretical debate in sociology, however, aspects of working time organization and income are also regarded as dimensions of precarious employment. According to the theoretical model of the occupational gratification crisis, an imbalance of perceived efforts and rewards at work has a demonstrable negative effect on health. Fixed term contracts, low wages as a renunciation of rewards or atypical working hours and overtime as an increased effort would indicate an increased risk of a gratification crisis for precarious employees. In longitudinal analyses with the PASS, combinations of precarious employment characteristics are to be examined in regard to their influence on gratification crises and various health indicators.