Employment status, working conditions and depressive symptoms among German employees born in 1959 and 1965

Employees' perception of robots and robot-induced unemployment in hospitality industry under COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of the pandemic is driving the recent upsurge in service automation and the adoption of service robots in the hospitality industry. As service paradigm and customer expectations shift from conventional customized and personalized services towards a digitalized service environment, such customer orientation may favor using service robots at scales that could render service employees redundant. This study aims to answer the above question by investigating service employees' perceptions of service robots. Data solicited from 405 service employees in the United States of America via Amazon's MTurk were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The result revealed that employees' awareness of adopting and using service robots significantly impacts their perception of robot-induced unemployment. Further, results indicated that the perception of robots' social skills significantly influences service employees' perception of robot-induced unemployment. Employee status was found to moderate the relationships mentioned above. Specifically, entry-level employees perceive the unemployment risk more than managers.

Does persistent precarious employment affect health outcomes among working age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of persistent precarious employment (lasting 12+ months) on the health of working age adults, compared with more stable employment. Persistent precarity reflects a shift towards less secure forms of employment and may be particularly important for health.

METHODS

Nine databases were systematically searched to identify quantitative studies that assessed the relationship between persistent precarious employment and health outcomes. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using an adaptation of the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. Narrative synthesis and random effects meta-analysis were conducted. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grades of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

RESULTS

Of 12 940 records screened, 50 studies met the inclusion criteria and 29 were included in meta-analyses. RoB was generally high (n=18). The most reported outcome domain was mental health; with evidence also reported relating to general health, physical health,and health behaviours. Of GRADE assessed outcomes, persistent precarious employment was associated with increased risk of poor self-rated health (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.14, I2=80%) and mental health symptoms (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.70, I2=65%). The association with all-cause mortality was imprecisely estimated (OR 1.10, 5% CI 0.91 to 1.33, I2=73%). There was very low GRADE certainty across all outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent precarious employment is associated with poorer health, particularly for outcomes with short time lags, though associations are small and causality is highly uncertain. Further research using more robust methods is needed but given potential health harms of persistent precarious employment, exploration of precautionary labour regulations and employment policies is warranted.

A comparison of work environment, job insecurity, and health between marginal part-time workers and full-time workers in Denmark using pooled register data

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate characteristics of the work environment, job insecurity, and health of marginal part-time workers (8.0-14.9 hours/week) compared with full-time workers (32.0-40.0 hours/week).

METHODS

The study population included employees in the survey Work Environment and Health in Denmark (WEHD) in 2012, 2014, or 2016 (n = 34 960). Survey information from WEHD on work environment and health was linked with register-based information of exposure based on working hours 3 months prior to the survey, obtained from the register Labour Market Account. Associations between marginal part-time work and work environment and health were assessed using logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Marginal part-time workers reported less quantitative job demands, lower levels of influence at work, poorer support from colleagues and leaders, less job satisfaction and poorer safety, as well as more job insecurity. Results on negative social relations in the workplace and physical workload were more ambiguous. Marginal part-time workers were more likely to report poorer self-rated health, treatment-requiring illness, and depressive symptoms compared with full-time workers. Adjusting for characteristics of the work environment showed an indication of altered odds ratios for self-rated health and depressive symptoms, whereas job insecurity did not.

CONCLUSIONS

This study finds that marginal part-time workers experience a poorer psychosocial work environment and safety, higher job insecurity, and poorer health than full-time workers. Work environment characteristics may confound or mediate the association between marginal part-time work and health. However, prospective studies are needed to determine the causal direction of the revealed associations.

Social support as protective factor of the effects of part-time work on psychological health: a moderated mediation model

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the protective effect of social support on psychological health and how it differs by gender in the context of part-time employment.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 22,786 employees from four service sector organisations. Structural equation modelling was used to test a moderated mediation model assessing the relationship between employment status (part-time vs full-time) and psychological health mediated by social support (from management and colleagues) and moderated by gender.

Findings

Social support from management and colleagues was associated with fewer symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. Notably, management support had a stronger association than that of colleagues’ support on each of the three health-related variables. Social support was also found to be a mediator of part-time working on health such that lower social support led to increased health symptoms. Moreover, we found moderating gender effects between social support and psychological health such that colleague support had a stronger effect on reduced depression and stress among men than women whilst management support had a stronger effect on reduced anxiety for women. Finally, significant moderated mediating paths were found, but further research is needed to identify other potential moderators of the mediating effects.

Originality/value

The findings suggest complex relationships between part-time employment, social support, psychological health and gender not examined in previous studies. It highlights the value of diverse sources of support and the necessity of addressing specific gender's needs for enhancing psychological health of part-time employees.

Assessment of depression in veterans across missions: a validity study using Rasch measurement models

Background: Depression is a common psychopathological outcome following military deployment. Previous studies have reported differing rates of post-deployment depression, indicating that the toll of war differs across missions. However, it is unclear to what degree the varying prevalence is due methodological differences. Studies comparing rates of depression across cohorts using the same methodology and ensuring measurement invariance are rare, leaving us with limited knowledge on the actual depression prevalence variance across missions. Objective: Applying Rasch models (RM), we aim to validate a measure of depression distributed to all personnel deployed with the Danish Defense since 1998. The main focus was establishing a sufficient sum score and measurement invariance relative to deployment cohort. Method: Two cohorts of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (ISAF7, N = 265) and 2013 (ISAF15, N = 271) were included. Participants filled out a questionnaire concerning their Psychological Reactions to International Missions (PRIM) approximately seven months after home-coming. The questionnaire included a 10-item scale of depression symptoms (PRIM-Depression). The validity of the PRIM-Depression was tested using RM with specific focus on differential item functioning (DIF) across the two cohorts. Results: The PRIM-Depression scale displayed excellent overall consistency and showed no problems with monotonicity or homogeneity. However, the full PRIM-Depression scale did not fit a pure RM. We therefore tested the fit of items to a graphical log-linear RM and found evidence of DIF for two items relative to cohort. We proceeded without these two items and tested the resulting 8-item version which fitted a pure RM without DIF on any of the exogenous variables. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the 10-item PRIM-Depression scale should be used to compare cohorts only with appropriate score equation. The 8-item version provides a sufficient statistic and can as such be applied using the raw score.

[Part-time Work and Men's Health : Results based on Routine Data of a Statutory Health Insurance Scheme]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

With the introduction of a new occupational classification at the end of 2011, employment characteristics are reported by employees to social insurance agencies in Germany in more detail than in previous years. In addition to other changes, the new classification allows a distinction between full- and part-time work to be made. This provided a reason to consider the health-related aspects of part-time work on the basis of data from a statutory health insurance scheme.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our analysis is based on the data of 3.8 million employees insured with the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), a statutory health insurance scheme, in 2012. In addition to daily information on employment situations, details of periods and diagnoses of sick leave and the drugs prescribed were available.

RESULTS

Although approximately 50 % of women of middle to higher working age worked part-time in 2012, the corresponding percentage of men employed in part-time work was less than 10 %. Overall, part-time employees were on sick leave for fewer days than full-time employees, but among men, sick leave due to mental disorders was longer for part-time employees than for full-time employees, whereas women working part time were affected to a lesser extent by corresponding periods of absence than those working full time.

DISCUSSION

The results provide indications for the assertion that men in gender-specifically atypical employment situations are more frequently affected by mental disorders. Further evidence supports this assertion. With the long-term availability of these new employment characteristics, longitudinal analyses could help to clarify this cause-effect relationship.

Working conditions, psychosocial environmental factors, and depressive symptoms among wage workers in South Korea

BACKGROUND

In South Korea, the number of workers suffering from mental illnesses, such as depression, has rapidly increased. There is growing concern about depressive symptoms being associated with both working conditions and psychosocial environmental factors.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate potential psychosocial environmental moderators in the relationship between working conditions and occupational depressive symptoms among wage workers.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the wage worker respondents (n = 4,095) of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2009. First, chi-square tests confirmed the differences in working conditions and psychosocial characteristics between depressive and non-depressive groups. Second, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the moderating effects of the psychosocial environmental factors between working conditions and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

After adjusting for potential covariates, the likelihood of depressive symptomatology was high among respondents who had dangerous jobs and flexible work hours compared to those who had standard jobs and fixed daytime work hours (OR = 1.66 and 1.59, respectively). Regarding psychosocial factors, respondents with high job demands, low job control, and low social support were more likely to have depressive symptoms (OR = 1.26, 1.58 and 1.61, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need to develop non-occupational intervention programs, which provide workers with training about workplace depression and improve social support, and the programs should provide time for employees to have active communication. Additionally, companies should provide employees with support to access mental healthcare thereby decreasing the occurrence of workplace depression.

Association of partner, parental, and employment statuses with self-rated health among German women and men

The association of partner, parental, and employment statuses with health is usually discussed in terms of either the multiple role burden hypothesis or the multiple role attachment hypothesis. The first hypothesis states that combining work and family roles increases the burden of responsibility, which in turn increases the pressure and stress associated with competing roles, leading to poorer health. The multiple role attachment hypothesis argues that multiple responsibilities provide attachment to broader networks, which then provide social support and resources that enhance health. We analyzed pooled data from the German Health Update carried out by the Robert Koch Institute in 2009, 2010, and 2012. The data were collected by computer-assisted telephone interviews. The sample comprised 28,086 people aged 30-54 years. The data were assessed with logistic regression analysis and interaction models. The gender-differentiated analysis of partnership, parenthood, and employment, after adjusting for social and demographic characteristics, revealed small interaction effects among all three social roles with self-rated health in women and men. Non-employment showed the strongest relationship with poor self-rated health. It was significantly associated with lower self-rated health in both men and women in most of the family arrangements. These associations were higher in men than in women. Furthermore, in all family arrangements, female part-time employees were as healthy as female fulltime employees. A more subtle association was found in men: the odds of reporting poorer self-rated health were greater among non-parents employed part time than among those employed full time, but lower than among those who were non-employed. Among fathers, part-time employees did not have statistically better health than full-time employees.The findings support somewhat the multiple role attachment hypothesis, rather than the multiple role burden hypothesis. Because employment has great importance for both women's and men's health, the compatibility of work and family roles should be improved.