Mousteri, Victoria and Daly, Michael and Delaney, Liam (2020) Underemployment and psychological distress: Propensity score and fixed effects estimates from two large UK samples. Social Science and Medicine, 244 (112641). ISSN 0277-9536

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Abstract

Background: The share of workers who work part-time because full-time jobs are not available remains larger compared to the period prior to the 2008 crisis. For part-time workers, being available to work more hours than offered may have negative mental health implications. Method: Drawing on two nationally representative British surveys, we tested whether working less than 30 hours per week while preferring to work longer hours (underemployment) is associated with increased psychological distress. Distress was assessed using responses to the 12-item General Health Questionnaire in both samples. Results: In the National Child Development Study (N = 6,295), propensity score estimates indicated that the hours-underemployed workers experienced higher levels of psychological distress (β = 0.25, p <0.001) than full-time workers matched on observable characteristics, including prior distress levels. Fixed effects estimates using 18 years of the British Household Panel Survey (N = 8,665) showed that transitioning from full-time employment to underemployment predicted an increase in distress levels (β = 0.19, p <0.01). Conversely, transitioning from underemployment to full-time employment forecasted a reduction in distress (β = -0.18, p <0.001). On average, job earnings and perceptions of job security explained a small (≈ 10%) portion of the potential psychological impact of hours-underemployment. Conclusions: These findings highlight the possibility that underemployment among part-time workers may have detrimental psychological consequences. Policy interventions geared towards improving career opportunities for part-time workers would potentially ameliorate losses in psychological well-being experienced by this group.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Victoria Mousteri, Michael Daly, Liam Delaney, Underemployment and psychological distress: Propensity score and fixed effects estimates from two large UK samples, Social Science & Medicine, Volume 244, 2020, 112641, ISSN 0277-9536, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112641. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619306367)
Keywords:	UK; Hours-underemployment; Working-hours preferences; Employment transitions; Psychological distress;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
Item ID:	15241
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112641
Depositing User:	Michael Daly
Date Deposited:	12 Jan 2022 17:41
Journal or Publication Title:	Social Science and Medicine
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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