Associations between Workers' Health and Working Conditions: Would the Physical and Mental Health of Nonregular Employees Improve If Their Income Was Adjusted?

Abstract

Precarious employment can negatively affect health, but workers may be healthy if they earn enough income. This study uses equivalent disposable income and examines the interaction between income classes and employment types to clarify whether workers' health improves as the income classes rise. In Japan, nonstandard workers, called nonregular employees, have remained high since 2013. Therefore, using data from the national cross-sectional Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions 2013, an official survey performed in Japan, we targeted a sample of employees aged 18 to 45 who graduated during the economic recession. Our final sample included 8282 employees (4444 males and 3838 females). The health (general and mental) status indicators used the dichotomized self-rated health and scores of the K6 questionnaires scored in the national survey. The association between income and health was almost proportional. Female workers tended to improve their health as their income class increased; however, this tendency was not observed in male workers, especially nonregular employees. Although the associations were weakened by added income information on the regression models, nonregular employees always showed inferior health to regular employees. The health status of nonregular employees, especially female nonregular employees, is statistically significantly lower than that of regular employees, even when the economic class is similar. In conclusion, improving low incomes for nonregular employees could improve health challenges, but income alone may not result in the same health status for regular and nonregular employees.

Keywords: income; mental health; nonregular employment; self-rated health; socioeconomic status; workers’ health.

Figure 1

Association between economic status (equivalent disposable income quartile) and poor health (predicted self-rated health and K6 scores) by employment status in male workers.

Figure 2

Association between economic status (equivalent disposable income quartile) and poor health (predicted self-rated health and K6 scores) by employment status in female workers.