Job control and working life expectancy in Sweden

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Labor Economics
• Sociology of Work

Background:

• Job control is a key workplace factor influencing employee well-being and career longevity.
• Understanding the differential impact of job control on labor market participation is crucial for public health and economic policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how low job control affects working life expectancy (WLE) and working years lost (WYL) in the Swedish workforce.
• To analyze these impacts separately for men and women.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a random sample of 100,000 individuals from the Swedish Work, Illness, and labor market Participation (SWIP) cohort (2005).
• Employed a multi-state estimated labor market affiliation method to calculate WLE and WYL over a 15-year period (2006-2020).
• Assessed job control using a job exposure matrix.

Main Results:

• Individuals in high-control jobs exhibited longer WLE compared to those in low-control jobs across all ages.
• At age 30, men in low-control jobs had 2.5 years shorter WLE, while women experienced nearly 5 years shorter WLE.
• Differences in WLE were primarily attributed to disability pension and unemployment, with low-control jobs leading to more lost working years.

Conclusions:

• Higher job control is strongly associated with extended working lives (WLE).
• Low job control is a significant factor contributing to lost working years (WYL) in Sweden.
• Interventions to improve job control could enhance working life duration and reduce labor market disparities.