The analysis takes a comprehensive approach to show that the overall pattern of employment conditions is important for health, beyond any single measure of employment, such as wages or contract type.
“This research is part of a growing body of evidence that the work people do—and the way it is organized and paid for—is fundamental to producing not only wealth, but health,” says senior author Noah Seixas, a professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Washington.
Our Jobs and Our Health
Technology and other forces are changing the nature of work, researchers say. The traditional model of ongoing, full-time employment with regular hours and job security is rapidly giving way to gig-economy jobs, short-term contracts, nonstandard work hours, and flexible employer-worker relationships.
Current models for understanding this work are too simplistic, says first author Trevor Peckham, a doctoral student in environmental and occupational health sciences. Studies of a single aspect of employment may not capture important elements of jobs that influence health.
“Employment relationships are complex. They determine everything from how much you get paid, how much control you have over your work schedule, your opportunities for advancement, and how much protection you have against adverse working conditions, like harassment,” says Peckham, also a clinical instructor in Health Services.
The researchers used data from the General Social Survey collected between 2002 to 2014 to construct a multidimensional measure of how self-reported health, mental health, and occupational injury were associated with employment quality among approximately 6,000 US adults.
“There are many different forms of employment in the modern economy,” Peckham says. “Our study suggests that it is the differ ..
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