Employment security and health

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sociology of Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Employment security is a critical determinant of employee well-being.
• Both contractual status and an individual's perception of job security influence health outcomes.
• Understanding these distinctions is vital for public health and occupational safety research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential associations of contractual and perceived employment security with employee health.
• To differentiate between objective (contractual) and subjective (perceived) aspects of job security in relation to health.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among municipal sector employees in Finland.
• Data were collected from 5981 permanent employees and 2786 non-permanent employees (fixed-term and government-subsidised).
• Health outcomes included self-rated health, chronic disease prevalence, and psychological distress.

Main Results:

• Fixed-term employees reported better self-rated health and less chronic disease than permanent employees, but higher psychological distress for women.
• Government-subsidised employees, particularly women, showed higher psychological distress compared to permanent employees.
• Low perceived employment security was consistently linked to poorer health across all indicators, with a stronger association for psychological distress among permanent employees.

Conclusions:

• Contractual and perceived employment security have distinct relationships with employee health.
• Future research on labor market status and health must differentiate these security aspects.
• Controlling for health selection is essential, as it may differ between permanent and non-permanent workers.