Comparing Depressive Symptoms, Emotional Exhaustion, and Sleep Disturbances in Self-Employed and Employed Workers: Application of Approximate Bayesian Measurement Invariance.

Louise E Bergman,Susanna Toivanen,Claudia Bernhard-Oettel,Aleksandra Bujacz,Constanze Leineweber

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.598303

Abstract

Studies investigating differences in mental health problems between self-employed and employed workers have provided contradictory results. Many of the studies utilized scales validated for employed workers, without collecting validity evidence for making comparisons with self-employed. The aim of this study was (1) to collect validity evidence for three different scales assessing depressive symptoms, emotional exhaustion, and sleep disturbances for employed workers, and combinators; and (2) to test if these groups differed. We first conducted approximate measurement invariance analysis and found that all scales were invariant at the scalar level. Self-employed workers had least mental health problems and employed workers had most, but differences were small. Though we found the scales invariant, we do not find them optimal for comparison of means. To be more precise in describing differences between groups, we recommend using clinical cut-offs or scales developed with the specific purpose of assessing mental health problems at work.

Highlights

Do self-employed workers experience less depressive symptoms and emotional exhaustion than organizationally employed workers? Does the different types of work affect the quality of their sleep? Do those who are entirely self-employed and those who combine self-employment with organizational employment differ in their mental health problems? As self-employment, and selfemployment in combination with organizational employment, is a reality for a growing proportion of workers, these are questions researchers recently have started to ask (Bureau and Dieuaide, 2018; Conen and Schippers, 2019; Torrès and Thurik, 2019)
In terms of the mean comparisons, we found that selfemployed workers reported less mental health problems than both employed workers and combinators
This is in line with Sikora and Saha (2009), as they found that self-employed workers experience less exhaustion, and with Rietveld et al (2015), who found that self-employed workers experience less depressive symptoms

Summary

Introduction

As self-employment, and selfemployment in combination with organizational employment, is a reality for a growing proportion of workers, these are questions researchers recently have started to ask (Bureau and Dieuaide, 2018; Conen and Schippers, 2019; Torrès and Thurik, 2019). Earlier research indicate that mental health problems such as depressive symptoms and emotional exhaustion relate to self-employed workers’ intentions to leave self-employment (Wincent et al, 2008; Hessels et al, 2018). Mental health does hold intrinsic value for the worker but is an important value for society as a whole

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Conclusion