Employment and ill-health among women in Israel

Recent studies carried out in the United States consistently showed employed women to enjoy better health than non-employed women. Various measures were used and a number of explanatory approaches have been advanced. The present study follows previous research and its purpose is two-fold: first, to identify several dimensions of ill-health and examine the role of employment in each; and second, to provide comparative data from Israel and thus assess the generalizability of previous findings. The analyses reported are based on a sample of 416 married women between the ages of 25 and 65 residing in urban communities south of Tel Aviv. While employment status generally had a positive effect on all measures of health, it accounted for variable portions of the differences between employed and non-employed women. Employment accounted for most of the gap in illness behavior, but only for a small portion of the difference in perceived sickness. Employment increased somewhat the likelihood of mild symptoms. These patterns are discussed in light of theoretical approaches that address the relationship between employment and health.