Quality employment in a regulated labour market is beneficial for workers’ health and reduces inequalities. This is one of the main conclusions of the research that UPF’s Health Inequalities Research Group - Employment Conditions Network (Greds-Emconet) has carried out within the European Sophie  project, specifically in the line dedicated to the labour market and employment policies.

A scientific paper published recently in International Journal of Health, whose authors belong to seven different institutions, summarizes one of the main findings and conclusions in this area of ​​study of the Sophie project.

Among the authors are five researchers associated with Greds-Emconet: Joan Benach, lecturer with the Department of Political and Social Sciences at UPF and director of the Research Group; Mireia Julià (first author), group researcher and adjunct lecturer in the same department; Laia Ollé-Espluga, PhD by UPF; Carles Muntaner (University of Toronto) and Christophe Vanroelen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).

New multidimensional concepts to measure the quality of employment

The research carried out by Greds-Emconet has highlighted the lack of agreement on the existing conceptual definitions in this area. It has established new multidimensional concepts to measure the quality of employment, job insecurity and informal employment and its impact on health in contemporary European labour markets, in which full-time employment is decreasing.

The study found that informal and precarious employment need more detailed categorization than the classic dichotomy between standard and non-standard employment. Thus, it distinguishes five different types of employment regarding quality. They are (from highest to lowest quality) as follows: SER-like (similar to the standard, idealized employment relationship), instrumental (relatively stable but with few benefits) portfolio (highly skilled, but rather flexible), precarious unsustainable (with adverse employment conditions and relationships) and precarious intensive.

Notable differences between countries in the European Union

The conditions and the quality of employment (which constitute one of the most powerful social determinants regarding health during adulthood) and its relationship with health inequalities, differ greatly from country to country in the European Union and also between EU countries and countries outside the EU. The research used several European surveys and tools such as the European Social Survey (ESS), the European Working Conditions Survey, and the Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) to analyse the quality of employment and its relationship with health.

It was found that, in general, in Nordic countries high quality employment prevails, while in the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe, high rates of precarious employment are clearly related to self-perceived job satisfaction, general health and mental health. It was also shown that differences between countries related to the quality of employment affect socioeconomic inequalities based on social class and gender.

In its study, Greds-Emconet also conducted case studies of several European countries to analyse their employment policies and labour market. The precariousness of employment in Catalonia, the representation of workers in the field of occupational health in Spain, self-employed workers in Sweden, or the Belgian service voucher system, are some examples.

Labour market policies affect workers’ health

The research underlined that social and employment policies have led to the precariousness of the European labour market, creating worse labour and employment conditions. To a large extent, the relationship between part-time employment, working conditions and people’s health status depends on the types of the welfare state, gender, part-time employment measurement and their forced or voluntary nature.

Therefore, a series of decisions must be taken, that should involve national and European public health policies: to stop the rise in precariousness; increase the safety and the quality of employment, in order to protect workers’ health and well-being, which would enable reducing health inequalities.

Other aspects to improve would be to develop standardized definitions and indicators, surveys and information systems, in order to measure precarious and informal employment and workers’ participation in the countries of Europe, and improve the balance between work and family.

A project that analyses the impact of structural policies on health inequalities

The Sophie project, carried out between 2011 and 2015, was funded by the European Commission’s 7^th Framework Programme, and has enjoyed the participation of a dozen partners from all over the world, among which, in Spain, the Public Health Agency of Barcelona (coordinating centre), UPF, Càritas Barcelona and the University of the Basque Country, along with other centres in Italy, Canada, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Britain.

The findings of the research, carried out in seven different areas of work (welfare state, labour market, sector of construction, housing, gender, migration, policy evaluation methods, and transfer of participation and knowledge) have confirmed the initial hypothesis, that social and economic policies are crucial in health inequalities, and that equity-oriented policies can improve these inequalities.

Reference work: Mireia Julià, Laia Ollé-Espluga, Christophe Vanroelen, Deborah De Moortel, Sarah Mousaid, Stig Vinberg, Vanessa Puig-Barrachina, Esther Sánchez, Carles Muntaner, Lucia Artazcoz & Joan Benach (October 2016). Employment and Labor Market Results of the Sophie Project: Concepts, Analyses, and Policies. International Journal of Health. DOI: 10.1177/0020731416676233  

> Vídeo about project results