Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep;5(4):258-281.
doi: 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.4.09.

Evaluating Employment Quality as a Determinant of Health in a Changing Labor Market

Affiliations

Evaluating Employment Quality as a Determinant of Health in a Changing Labor Market

Trevor Peckham et al. RSF. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

The shifting nature of employment in recent decades has not been adequately examined from a public health perspective. To that end, traditional models of work and health research need to be expanded to include the relational and contractual aspects of employment that also affect health. We examine the association of three health outcomes with different types of employment in the contemporary U.S. labor market, as measured by a multidimensional construct of employment quality (EQ) derived from latent class analysis. We find that EQ is associated with self-rated health, mental health, and occupational injury. Further, we explore three proposed mediating mechanisms of the EQ-health relationship (material deprivation, employment-related stressors, and occupational risk factors), and find each to be supported by these data.

Keywords: employment quality; latent class analysis; mental health; occupational health; work-related injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ahonen Emily Q., Fujishiro Kaori, Cunningham Thomas, and Flynn Michael. 2018. “Work as an Inclusive Part of Population Health Inequities Research and Prevention.” American Journal of Public Health 108(3): 306–11. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arnold Dennis, and Bongiovi Joseph. R.. 2013. “Precarious, Informalizing, and Flexible Work: Transforming Concepts and Understandings.” American Behavioral Scientist 57(3): 289–308.
    1. Aronsson Gunnar. 1999. “Contingent Workers and Health and Safety.” Work, Employment and Society 13(3): 439–59.
    1. Avendano Mauricio, Glymour M. Maria, Banks James, and Mackenbach P. Johan. 2009. “Health Disadvantage in US Adults Aged 50 to 74 Years: A Comparison of the Health of Rich and Poor Americans with That of Europeans.” American Journal of Public Health 99(3): 540–48. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Avendano Mauricio, and Kawachi Ichiro. 2014. “Why Do Americans Have Shorter Life Expectancy and Worse Health Than Do People in Other High-Income Countries?” Annual Review of Public Health 35(1): 307–25. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources