title: How does employment quality relate to health and job satisfaction in Europe? A typological approach.
abstract: The changing nature of employment in recent decades, due to an increased emphasis on flexibility and competitiveness in European labour markets, compels the need to assess the consequences of contemporary employment situations for workers. This article aims to study the relation between the quality of employment and the health and well-being of European workers, using data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey. A typology of employment arrangements, mapping out employment quality in the European labour force, is constructed by means of a Latent Class Cluster Analysis. This innovative approach shows that it is possible to condense multiple factors characterising the employment situation into five job types: Standard Employment Relationship-like (SER-like), instrumental, precarious unsustainable, precarious intensive and portfolio jobs. Binary logistic regression analyses show that, controlling for other work quality characteristics, this employment quality typology is related to self-perceived job satisfaction, general health and mental health. Precarious intensive jobs are associated with the worst and SER-like jobs with the best health and well-being situation. The findings presented in this study indicate that, among European wage workers, flexible and de-standardised employment tends to be related to lower job satisfaction, general health and mental health. The quality of employment is thus identified as an important social determinant of health (inequalities) in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: kvaerden@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Aerden
authors.affiliation: Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; Health Information Systems Unit, Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Pl. Lesseps 1, 08023 Barcelona, Spain; Health Inequalities Research Group (GREDS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè 10-12, 08002 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: vanessapuigbarrachina@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Puig-Barrachina
authors.affiliation: Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: kibosman@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bosmans
authors.affiliation: Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; Health Inequalities Research Group (GREDS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè 10-12, 08002 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: cvroelen@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vanroelen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: EU27; Employment conditions; Employment quality; Employment relations; General health; Job satisfaction; Latent Class Cluster Analysis; Mental health