| Title |
Is an insecure job better for health than having no job at all? A systematic review of studies investigating the health-related risks of both job insecurity and unemployment
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
BMC Public Health, September 2015
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12889-015-2313-1 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Tae Jun Kim, Olaf von dem Knesebeck |
| Abstract |
Though previous research repeatedly found that being employed is better for health than having no job at all, evidence suggests that employment is not always beneficial for health. With especially job insecurity reflecting a contemporary health risk for the employed, a systematic review was performed to assess if insecure employment can be as detrimental for health as unemployment, and to determine whether these associations vary according to different health measures and among men and women. The literature search was conducted in the databases Medline, Embase and PsychInfo. In order to allow a more accurate comparison between the two risk factors, studies were included if the data for job insecurity and unemployment was ascertained from the same sample, and contained a quantitative analysis for both exposures towards one (or more) health outcome(s). Out of 375 articles, in total, 13 studies were included in the systematic review. In 24 analyses contrasting the health-related associations between job insecurity and unemployment, 16 statistically significant associations were found for each exposure. According to the different health outcomes used, job insecurity and unemployment were strongly related to mental health, whereas job insecurity was more strongly associated with somatic symptoms. Unemployment showed stronger relations with worse general health and mortality. In 4 out of 16 gender-stratified analyses, significant associations between job insecurity/unemployment and health were found for men but not for women. Beyond that, associations were significant or insignificant in both gender groups. Though there were moderate differences across the health outcomes, overall, it was found that job insecurity can pose a comparable threat to health than unemployment. Policy interventions should therefore not only consider health risks posed by unemployment, but should also aim at the reduction of insecure employment. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 103 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 27 | 26% |
| Spain | 13 | 13% |
| Ireland | 3 | 3% |
| Canada | 3 | 3% |
| Finland | 1 | <1% |
| Poland | 1 | <1% |
| Australia | 1 | <1% |
| Italy | 1 | <1% |
| Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
| Unknown | 49 | 48% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 69 | 67% |
| Scientists | 19 | 18% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 12 | 12% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 299 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| New Zealand | 1 | <1% |
| United States | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 296 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 51 | 17% |
| Student > Master | 40 | 13% |
| Researcher | 37 | 12% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 19 | 6% |
| Student > Bachelor | 19 | 6% |
| Other | 50 | 17% |
| Unknown | 83 | 28% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 53 | 18% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 46 | 15% |
| Psychology | 37 | 12% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 23 | 8% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 10 | 3% |
| Other | 33 | 11% |
| Unknown | 97 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 128. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 07 November 2023.
All research outputs
#331,417
of 25,703,943 outputs
Outputs from BMC Public Health
#297
of 17,779 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#4,388
of 286,978 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Public Health
#3
of 278 outputs
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