The impact of precarious jobs on mental health: a gender-sensitive literature review

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which research and knowledge production on a key occupational health issue-the impact of precarious employment on health-incorporates, and is sensitive to, a gender perspective.

Methods: A systematic literature review was carried out to identify studies that analysed the relationship between precarious employment and mental health in the period January 2010-May 2018 through. A minimum of two independent reviewers assessed each article for quality and eligibility. A checklist was used to determine whether the articles included in the review incorporated a gender perspective.

Results: The search retrieved 1522 papers, of which 54 (corresponding to 53 studies) met the inclusion criteria. Of these 54 papers, 22 (40.7%) stratified the analyses by sex. Only 5.4% of the total of articles both stratified by sex and considered variables of household composition and marital status, while only 33.3% incorporated an intersectional perspective. None considered the distribution of domestic work and only a quarter (25.9%) approached the study and interpreted the results in terms of gender.

Conclusion: Too few studies researching paid work and health include a gender perspective. This omission necessarily implies a biased interpretation of the reality of precarious employment and its impact on health.

Keywords: Gender; Mental health; Precarious employment; Review.