According to work by the <a href="http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/"
target=”_blank”>Institute of Social and Economic Research, people who work up to 15 hours a week have higher levels of job satisfaction than full-timers. People on seasonal or casual contracts, however, are less happy: both men and women in such circumstances report lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of mental distress than people in regular employment.
The research analysed the health effects of several types of atypical or ‘non-standard’ employment – including seasonal and casual jobs, fixed-term contracts and part-time employment – on a representative sample of 7,000 British male and female employees. Comparing workers in standard and non-standard jobs with respect to a number of subjective health measures, such as mental distress, general health status, life satisfaction and job satisfaction, reveals that:
– Although there are some health differences between people in standard jobs and people in flexible work arrangements, most of them tend to disappear over time.
– Both men and women in seasonal and casual employment report lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of mental distress than permanent employees. To some extent, these relationships are attenuated over time and do not scar individuals as they move within the labour market.
– People who work up to 15 hours a week – what the researchers call ‘mini-jobs’ – have higher levels of job satisfaction than full-timers. This group may prefer work arrangements that are highly flexible in terms of weekly hours of work, which allow them to combine work with other activities, for example, family care.
– Most health measures appear to have only weak links with atypical employment. The exception is job satisfaction, with people in seasonal or casual jobs reporting lower satisfaction levels than people in regular jobs. Given that people in such jobs also face worse pay conditions, this specific form of employment does not seem to provide them with an ideal opportunity to be integrated into the labour market for the first time or after periods of inactivity.
