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. 2021 Mar;54(2):110-118.
doi: 10.3961/jpmph.20.179. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Is Job Insecurity Worse for Mental Health Than Having a Part-time Job in Canada?

Il-Ho Kim  1 , Cyu-Chul Choi  2 , Karen Urbanoski  3   4 , Jungwee Park  5 , Jiman Kim  6
Affiliations

Is Job Insecurity Worse for Mental Health Than Having a Part-time Job in Canada?

Il-Ho Kim et al. J Prev Med Public Health. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: A growing number of people depend on flexible employment, characterized by outsider employment status and perceived job insecurity. This study investigated whether there was a synergistic effect of employment status (full-time vs. part-time) and perceived job insecurity on major depressive disorder.

Methods: Data were derived from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health of 12 640 of Canada's labor force population, aged 20 to 74. By combining employment status with perceived job insecurity, we formed four employment categories: full-time secure, full-time insecure, part-time secure, and part-time insecure.

Results: Results showed no synergistic health effect between employment status and perceived job insecurity. Regardless of employment status (full-time vs. part-time), insecure employment was significantly associated with a high risk of major depressive disorder. Analysis of the interaction between gender and four flexible employment status showed a gender-contingent effect on this link in only full-time insecure category. Men workers with full-time insecure jobs were more likely to experience major depressive disorders than their women counterparts.

Conclusions: This study's findings imply that perceived job insecurity may be a critical factor for developing major depressive disorder, in both men and women workers.

Keywords: Employment; Gender; Major depressive disorder; Perceived job insecurity.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest associated with the material presented in this paper.

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