title: Employment and Labor Market Results of the SOPHIE Project: Concepts, Analyses, and Policies.
abstract: This article reports evidence gained by the SOPHIE Project regarding employment and labor market-related policies. In the first step, quality of employment and of precarious and informal employment in Europe were conceptualized and defined. Based on these definitions, we analyzed changes in the prevalence and population distribution of key health-affecting characteristics of employment and work between times of economic prosperity and economic crisis in Europe and investigated their impact on health outcomes. Additionally, we examined the effects of several employment and labor market-related policies on factors affecting health equity, including a specific analysis concerning work-related gender equity policies and case studies in different European countries. Our findings show that there is a need to standardize definitions and indicators of (the quality of) employment conditions and improve information systems. This is challenging given the important differences between and within European countries. In our results, low quality of employment and precarious employment is associated with poor mental health. In order to protect the well-being of workers and reduce work-related health inequalities, policies leading to precarious working and employment conditions need to be suspended. Instead, efforts should be made to improve the security and quality of employment for all workers.
authors: Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain mireia.julia@upf.edu.|Johns Hopkins University - Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Mireia
authors: M
authors: Julià
authors: Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.|Johns Hopkins University - Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Laia
authors: L
authors: Ollé-Espluga
authors: Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.|Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Christophe
authors: C
authors: Vanroelen
authors: Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Deborah
authors: D
authors: De Moortel
authors: Interface Demography, Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Mousaid
authors: Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden.
authors: Stig
authors: S
authors: Vinberg
authors: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona.|CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain.
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Puig-Barrachina
authors: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona.|CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain.
authors: Esther
authors: E
authors: Sánchez
authors: Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.|Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Carles
authors: C
authors: Muntaner
authors: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona.|CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain.
authors: Lucía
authors: L
authors: Artazcoz
authors: Health Inequalities Research Group, Employment Conditions Knowledge Network (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.|Johns Hopkins University - Universitat Pompeu Fabra Public Policy Center, Barcelona, Spain.|Transdisciplinary Research Group on Socioecological Transitions (GinTRANS). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid.
authors: Joan
authors: J
authors: Benach
mesh_terms: D004651:Employment; D005060:Europe; D006291:Health Policy; D006306:Health Surveys; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D064890:Social Determinants of Health
keywords: SOPHIE project; employment conditions; employment policies; health inequalities; labor market