Job insecurity during recessions: effects on survivors' work stress

State-level unemployment and negative emotions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States

Although prior research has assessed public mental health in the U.S. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unclear how area-level unemployment impacted psychological well-being; moreover, studies that examine potential effect heterogeneity of the impact of area-level unemployment on well-being by employment status are lacking. To address these shortcomings, this study utilized data from Gallup's repeated cross-sectional, nationally representative COVID-19 web survey collected between April 2020 and July 2021 (n = 132,971). Survey modified Poisson regression models were estimated to determine the association between current unemployment rate in respondents' state of residence and experience of each of the following negative emotions during a lot of the prior day: sadness, worry, stress, anger, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. These models were stratified by employment status and sequentially adjusted for individual-level covariates, state fixed effects, and current state-level COVID-19 mortality. State-level unemployment was most strongly associated with sadness, followed by worry, anger, loneliness, stress, and anxiety; no associations were observed for depression. For sadness, worry, and stress, associations were strongest among full-time employed and retired individuals, and weakest among unemployed respondents and homemakers. Moreover, there was some evidence that state-level unemployment was negatively associated with the experience of anger in the early stages of the pandemic, and positively in its later stages. In sum, these findings suggest that Americans' emotional experience during the COVID-19 pandemic was considerably impacted by the state of the economy, highlighting the need for risk-buffering social policies.

Music preferences as an instrument of emotional self-regulation along the business cycle

This paper studies the influence of macroeconomic conditions on subjective well-being and music preferences. The macroeconomic cycle exerts an effect on happiness and well-being that consumers counterbalance by modifying music consumption. We use machine learning techniques to make a weekly classification of the top 100 songs of Billboard Hot 100 into positive and negative lyrics over the period 1958-2019. When unemployment is high, society generally prefers more positive songs. Other macroeconomic indicators such as high inflation, high interest rates or low stock market prices also affect musical preferences. These results provide initial evidence regarding the use of cultural consumption to offset business cycle oscillations.

Fear of Losing Jobs during COVID-19: Can Psychological Capital Alleviate Job Insecurity and Job Stress?

Job insecurity is a growing concern among bank employees. In this research, we examined whether psychological capital can alleviate bank workers’ perceptions of job insecurity and job stress during COVID-19. In particular, we aimed to examine this relationship at both the individual and work-unit levels of analysis. Based on the data collected from 520 bank tellers in 53 bank branches in Thailand, our multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analyses revealed that there was significant between-branch variation in the levels of psychological capital (15%), job insecurity (23%) and job stress (24%). In particular, perceptions of job insecurity were found to have a positive effect on job stress at both levels of analysis. We also found that psychological capital significantly reduced perceptions of job insecurity and job stress at the individual level. These findings emphasize that perceptions of job insecurity can emerge at both the individual and work-unit levels. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Unemployment Insurance and Opioid Overdose Mortality in the United States

Over the past two decades, opioid overdose deaths contributed to the dramatic rise in all-cause mortality among non-Hispanic Whites. To date, efforts among scholars to understand the role of local area labor market conditions on opioid overdose mortality have led to mixed results. We argue the reason for these disparate findings is scholars have not considered the moderating effects of income support policies such as unemployment insurance. The present study leverages two sources of variation-county mass layoffs and changes in the generosity of state unemployment insurance benefits-to investigate if unemployment benefits moderate the relationship between job loss and county opioid overdose death rates. Our difference-in-differences estimation strategy reveals that the harmful effects of job loss on opioid overdose mortality decline with increasing state unemployment insurance benefit levels. These findings suggest that social policy in the form of income transfers played a crucial role in disrupting the link between job loss and opioid overdose mortality.

Class, partisanship and the great recession: the conflicting influences on attitudes towards inequality during economic crises

While some scholars suggest that critical attitudes towards inequality follow the class gradient during recessions, others find that classes are largely unresponsive. In this article, I consider how party affiliation interacts with class to shape perceptions of inequality during a recession. I argue that it is important to look at the interplay between class and partisanship to better understand individual views towards inequality during times of economic crises. Leveraging data from the International Social Survey Programme before and after The Great Recession, I find that the recession did not raise awareness of inequality across classes. This is because party affiliation moderates the relationship differently according to class. Specifically, party affiliation is more important in shaping the inequality views for the upper class and less so for the working class. Future research needs to consider the interplay between class and politics when exploring how inequality attitudes respond to economic crises.

Economic hardship and mental health complaints during COVID-19

The COVID-19 economic crash is idiosyncratic because of its virtual standstill of economic activity. We therefore ask how individual labor market experiences are related to the development of mental health complaints in the spring of 2020. As clinical data collection was compromised during the lockdowns, standardized surveys of the European labor force provide an opportunity to observe mental health complaints as the crisis unfolded. Data are representative of active members of the labor force of six European nations that contained varying levels of COVID-19 burdens in terms of mortality and lockdown measures. We document a steep occupational prestige level gradient on the probability of facing economic hardship during the lockdowns-looming job loss, income loss, and workload decline-which evidently exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. Analyses indicate a striking positive relationship between instantaneous economic hardships during the COVID-19 lockdown and expressing feelings of depression and health anxiety. Importantly, the magnitude of the association between such hardships and indicators of mental health deterioration is highly dependent on workers' occupational standing, revealing a second layer of exacerbating inequality.

Synergistic effects of low-level stress and a Western diet on metabolic homeostasis, mood, and myocardial ischemic tolerance

How low-level psychological stress and overnutrition interact in influencing cardiometabolic disease is unclear. Mechanistic overlaps suggest potential synergies; however, findings are contradictory. We test whether low-level stress and Western diet (WD) feeding synergistically influence homeostasis, mood, and myocardial ischemic tolerance. Male C57BL6/J mice were fed a control diet or WD (32%/57%/11% calories from fat/carbohydrates/protein) for 12 wk, with subgroups restrained for 30 min/day over the final 3 wk. Metabolism, behavior, tolerance of perfused hearts to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), and cardiac “death proteins” were assessed. The WD resulted in insignificant trends toward increased body weight (+5%), glucose (+40%), insulin (+40%), triglycerides (+15%), and cholesterol (+20%) and reduced leptin (−20%) while significantly reducing insulin sensitivity [100% rise in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), P < 0.05]. Restraint did not independently influence metabolism while increasing HOMA-IR a further 50% (and resulting in significant elevations in insulin and glucose to 60–90% above control) in WD mice ( P < 0.05), despite blunting weight gain in control and WD mice. Anxiogenesis with restraint or WD was nonadditive, whereas anhedonia (reduced sucrose consumption) only arose with their combination. Neuroinflammation markers (hippocampal TNF-α, Il-1b) were unchanged. Myocardial I/R tolerance was unaltered with stress or WD alone, whereas the combination worsened dysfunction and oncosis [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) efflux]. Apoptosis (nucleosome accumulation) and death protein expression (BAK, BAX, BCL-2, RIP-1, TNF-α, cleaved caspase-3, and PARP) were unchanged. We conclude that mild, anxiogenic yet cardio-metabolically “benign” stress interacts synergistically with a WD to disrupt homeostasis, promote anhedonia (independently of neuroinflammation), and impair myocardial ischemic tolerance (independently of apoptosis and death protein levels).

Layoffs and the mental health and safety of remaining workers: a difference-in-differences analysis of the US aluminium industry

BACKGROUND

Relatively few studies have examined the effects of layoffs on remaining workers, although the effects of layoffs and downsizing events may extend beyond those employees who lose their jobs.

METHODS

We examined the effects of layoffs on mental healthcare utilisation and injury risk among workers at 30 US plants between 2003 and 2013. We defined layoffs as reductions in the hourly workforce of 20% or more at each plant. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compared the change in outcomes during layoffs versus the same 3-month period 1 year previously, accounting for secular trends with control plants.

RESULTS

Our study population included 15 502 workers and 7 layoff events between 2003 and 2013. Layoffs were associated with only minor decreases in injuries (-0.006, 95% CI -0.013 to 0.001). The probability of outpatient visits related to mental health increased by 1% during layoffs (0.010, 95% CI 0.003 to 0.017), and the probability of mental health-related prescriptions increased by 1.4% (0.014, 95% CI -0.0006 to 0.027). Among women, the increase in outpatient visits was more pronounced (0.017, 95% CI 0.003 to 0.031). Increased prescription utilisation appeared attributable primarily to opioid use (0.016, 95% CI 0.005 to 0.027).

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate an association between layoffs and remaining workers' mental health and safety, although changes mental healthcare utilisation may reflect both changes in underlying mental health and changes in care-seeking. Future research on concordance of service utilisation and underlying health may yield valuable insight into the experiences employed workers in the wake of layoffs.

Implantação do Programa Seguro-Emprego e saúde dos trabalhadores na indústria automobilística

RESUMO O objetivo do artigo foi analisar a implantação do Programa Seguro-Emprego (PSE) em relação à saúde dos trabalhadores nas montadoras de autoveículos do ABC. A metodologia incluiu pesquisa documental em acordos coletivos de trabalho, legislação, documentos de entidades sindicais e empresariais. Em 2015, o PSE foi lançado pelo governo como resposta à crise econômica, permitindo redução de até 30% da jornada de trabalho e de salário. Apesar dos questionamentos de grupos sindicais e da resistência operária nas montadoras, a maioria do sindicalismo apoiou a implantação do Programa. Os resultados da pesquisa apontaram o PSE como parte de um novo ciclo de expansão e transformações produtivas na indústria automobilística, ampliando e aprofundando a intensificação do trabalho como forma de geração do desgaste operário. O PSE participa da estratégia empresarial para manter o emprego mais produtivo, selecionando os operários que se manterão no emprego e excluindo trabalhadores considerados de ‘baixo desempenho’ e os ‘compatíveis’ (com redução da capacidade laboral). A inclusão do Programa na reforma trabalhista torna-o alternativa permanente para utilização pelas empresas. Portanto, trata-se de tema relevante para as pesquisas e ações em saúde coletiva e saúde do trabalhador.

Current and Expected Economic Hardship and Satisfaction With Family Life in Europe

This study investigated how people's satisfaction with their family life is influenced by economic circumstances. Expectations were formulated that people who experienced or expected economic hardship would be less satisfied with their family life. Additionally, it was hypothesized that current and expected economic hardship would amplify each other's consequences on satisfaction, and that current and expected economic hardship was more harmful for people with children and when the rise of unemployment in a country was larger. Multilevel analyses were conducted using a sample from the European Quality of Life Survey 2012 (N = 13,013 in 30 countries). Results indeed indicated that people who experienced or expected economic hardship were less satisfied with their family life. Expecting a financial decline was (slightly) more harmful for people in larger families. Generally, current and expected economic problems were not more harmful for parents or when a country's rise of unemployment was larger.

Social, Psychological, And Physical Aspects Of The Work Environment Could Contribute To Hypertension Prevalence

Studies on the physical and social characteristics of the workplace have begun to provide evidence for the role of specific workplace factors on health. However, the overall contribution of the workplace to health has not been considered. Estimates of the influences on health across domains of the work environment are a critical first step toward understanding what level of priority the workplace should take as the target for public policies to improve health. The influences or contribution of these domains on health in the work environment are particularly useful to study since they are potentially modifiable through changes in policies and environment. Our analysis used detailed data from blue-collar industrial workers at two dozen Alcoa plants. It includes work environmental measures of psychological hazards, physical hazards, and the workplace social environment, to estimate the overall importance of the workplace environment for hypertension. Our findings suggest that social, psychological, and physical aspects of the work environment could contribute to a substantial proportion of hypertension prevalence. These attributes of the workplace could thus be a useful target for improving workforce health.

Job insecurity and depression among automobile sales workers: A longitudinal study in South Korea

BACKGROUND

Job insecurity, the subjective perception of fear due to uncertainty about job continuity, could have long-term health effects. We aimed to examine the effect of job insecurity on depression among automobile sales workers in South Korea.

METHODS

We analyzed data collected in 2007 and 2014 from a longitudinal cohort of 560 sales workers from an automobile company in South Korea. Change in job insecurity was classified into four groups: secure to secure; insecure to secure; secure to insecure; and insecure to insecure.

RESULTS

After adjusting for potential confounders, workers in the insecure to insecure group had a significantly higher likelihood of depression in 2014 than workers in the secure to secure group (OR: 2.74; 95%CI: 1.41, 5.31).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that chronic job insecurity may be a risk factor for developing depression among Korean automobile sales workers. This is the first longitudinal study examining the association between job insecurity and depression in South Korea.

Effect of economic recession on psychosocial working conditions by workers' nationality

BACKGROUND

Several publications have documented the effects of economic recessions on health. However, little is known about how economic recessions influence working conditions, especially among vulnerable workers.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of 2008 economic crisis on the prevalence of adverse psychosocial working conditions among Spanish and foreign national workers.

METHODS

Data come from the 2007 and 2011 Spanish Working Conditions Surveys. Survey year, sociodemographic, and occupational information were independent variables and psychosocial factors exposures were dependent variables. Analyses were stratified by nationality (Spanish versus foreign). Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) of psychological job demands, job control, job social support, physical demands and perceived job insecurity were estimated using Poisson regression.

RESULTS

The Spanish population had higher risk of psychological and physical job demand (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI = [1.04-1.10] and aPR = 1.05, 95% CI = [1.01-1.09], respectively) in 2011 compared to 2007. Among both Spanish and foreign national workers, greater aPR were found for job loss in 2011 compared to 2007 (aPR = 2.47, 95% CI = [2.34-2.60]; aPR = 2.44, 95% CI = [2.15-2.77], respectively).

CONCLUSION

The 2008 economic crisis was associated with a significant increase in physical demands in Spanish workers and increased job insecurity for both Spanish and foreign workers.

The Effects of Job Insecurity on Health Care Utilization: Findings from a Panel of U.S. Workers

OBJECTIVE

To examine the impacts of job insecurity during the recession of 2007-2009 on health care utilization among a panel of U.S. employees.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING

Linked administrative and claims datasets on a panel of continuously employed, continuously insured individuals at a large multisite manufacturing firm that experienced widespread layoffs (N = 9,486).

STUDY DESIGN

We employed segmented regressions to examine temporal discontinuities in utilization during 2006-2012. To assess the effects of job insecurity, we compared individuals at high- and low-layoff plants. Because the dataset includes multiple observations for each individual, we included individual-level fixed effects.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We found discontinuous increases in outpatient (3.5 visits/month/10,000 individuals, p = .002) and emergency (0.4 visits/month/10,000 individuals, p = .05) utilization in the panel of all employees. Compared with individuals at low-layoff plants, individuals at high-layoff plants decreased outpatient utilization (-4.0 visits/month/10,000 individuals, p = .008), suggesting foregone preventive care, with a marginally significant increase in emergency utilization (0.4 visits/month/10,000 individuals, p = .08).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest changes in health care utilization and potentially adverse impacts on employee health in response to job insecurity during the latest recession. This study contributes to our understanding of the impacts of economic crises on the health of the U.S. working population.

EPA guidance on mental health and economic crises in Europe

This European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance paper is a result of the Working Group on Mental Health Consequences of Economic Crises of the EPA Council of National Psychiatric Associations. Its purpose is to identify the impact on mental health in Europe of the economic downturn and the measures that may be taken to respond to it. We performed a review of the existing literature that yields 350 articles on which our conclusions and recommendations are based. Evidence-based tables and recommendations were developed through an expert consensus process. Literature dealing with the consequences of economic turmoil on the health and health behaviours of the population is heterogeneous, and the results are not completely unequivocal. However, there is a broad consensus about the deleterious consequences of economic crises on mental health, particularly on psychological well-being, depression, anxiety disorders, insomnia, alcohol abuse, and suicidal behaviour. Unemployment, indebtedness, precarious working conditions, inequalities, lack of social connectedness, and housing instability emerge as main risk factors. Men at working age could be particularly at risk, together with previous low SES or stigmatized populations. Generalized austerity measures and poor developed welfare systems trend to increase the harmful effects of economic crises on mental health. Although many articles suggest limitations of existing research and provide suggestions for future research, there is relatively little discussion of policy approaches to address the negative impact of economic crises on mental health. The few studies that addressed policy questions suggested that the development of social protection programs such as active labour programs, social support systems, protection for housing instability, and better access to mental health care, particularly at primary care level, is strongly needed.

Depressive symptoms as a cause and effect of job loss in men and women: evidence in the context of organisational downsizing from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined depression as both a cause and effect of unemployment, but no prior work investigated these relationships in the context of organisational downsizing. We explored whether the exposure to downsizing is associated with subsequent depression (social causation), and whether pre-existing depression increases the risk of being laid off when organisations downsize (health selection).

METHODS

Two successive waves of the nationally representative Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health represented the baseline (2008) and follow-up (2010) of this study. Analyses included 196 workers who lost their jobs through downsizing, 1462 layoff survivors remaining in downsized organisations and 1845 employees of non-downsized workplaces. The main outcomes were: (1) Depressive symptoms at follow-up, assessed with a brief subscale from the Symptom Checklist 90, categorised by severity levels ("major depression", "less severe symptoms" and "no depression") and analysed in relation to earlier downsizing exposure; (2) Job loss in persons with downsizing in relation to earlier depressive symptoms. The associations were assessed by means of multinomial logistic regression.

RESULTS

Job loss consistently predicted subsequent major depression among men and women, with a somewhat greater effect size in men. Surviving a layoff was significantly associated with subsequent major depression in women but not in men. Women with major depression have increased risks of exclusion from employment when organisations downsize, whereas job loss in men was not significantly influenced by their health.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence from this study suggests that the relative importance of social causation and health selection varies by gender in the context of organisational downsizing. Strategies for handling depression among employees should be sensitive to gender-specific risks during layoffs. Policies preventing social exclusion can be important for female workers at higher risk of depression.

A qualitative exploration of the impact of the economic recession in Spain on working, living and health conditions: reflections based on immigrant workers' experiences

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to analyse how immigrant workers in Spain experienced changes in their working and employment conditions brought about Spain's economic recession and the impact of these changes on their living conditions and health status.

METHOD

We conducted a grounded theory study. Data were obtained through six focus group discussions with immigrant workers (n = 44) from Colombia, Ecuador and Morocco, and two individual interviews with key informants from Romania living in Spain, selected by theoretical sample.

RESULTS

Three categories related to the crisis emerged--previous labour experiences, employment consequences and individual consequences--that show how immigrant workers in Spain (i) understand the change in employment and working conditions conditioned by their experiences in the period prior to the crisis, and (ii) experienced the deterioration in their quality of life and health as consequences of the worsening of employment and working conditions during times of economic recession.

CONCLUSION

The negative impact of the financial crisis on immigrant workers may increase their social vulnerability, potentially leading to the failure of their migratory project and a return to their home countries. Policy makers should take measures to minimize the negative impact of economic crisis on the occupational health of migrant workers in order to strengthen social protection and promote health and well-being.

Psychological well-being during the great recession: changes in mental health care utilization in an occupational cohort

OBJECTIVES

We examined the mental health effects of the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009 on workers who remained continuously employed and insured.

METHODS

We examined utilization trends for mental health services and medications during 2007 to 2012 among a panel of workers in the 25 largest plants, located in 15 states, of a US manufacturing firm. We used piecewise regression to compare trends from 2007 to 2010 in service and medication use before and after 2009, the year of mass layoffs at the firm and the peak of the recession. Our models accounted for changes in county-level unemployment rates and individual-level fixed effects.

RESULTS

Mental health inpatient and outpatient visits and the yearly supply of mental health-related medications increased among all workers after 2009. The magnitude of the increase in medication usage was higher for workers at plants with more layoffs.

CONCLUSIONS

The negative effects of the recession on mental health extend to employed individuals, a group considered at lower risk of psychological distress.