Labour Research November 2012

Health & Safety Matters

Job insecurity

A new US study has quantified the health implications of job insecurity. Researchers at Michigan University surveyed 440 workers over the age of 25 working in the south east of the state.

Of the one in five of respondents (19%) reporting job insecurity, a further one in five reported fair or poor health — almost three times higher than the group who felt that their employment situation was secure.

The results for depression and suffering anxiety attacks were even starker: two out of five of the job-insecure group (41%) reported suffering symptoms typical of depression.