Paid Work Research Articles

Working through the Unknowns: Canadian Youth's Experience of Employment during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The changes to our daily lives brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic were significant, and by now, well established. Suddenly we were having to deal with lockdowns, stay-at-home orders and social distancing, the closure of schools and daycares for in-person learning, and carrying out our paid work, if possible, at home. Those who couldn’t work at home, in the medical profession, emergency services and essential retail like grocery stores and pharmacies, dealt with unprecedented occupational health and safety unknowns, particularly during the early phases of the pandemic, information about which was slowly revealed in unfolding scientific developments. Youth were among those particularly affected. This study conducts a media analysis of the trends and experiences of young workers during this time. Its aim is to explore early assessments of the effect the pandemic will have on their career trajectories over the longer term. This helps to develop needed information on this demographic, whose plight in the face of the pandemic’s other social, health, and economic repercussions, has not had the attention it deserves. The article concludes with recommendations for the empirical research needed to support young workers’ transition to adulthood in the coming years.
 

Examining Cash Expenditures and Associated HIV-Related Behaviors Using Financial Diaries in Women Employed by Sex Work in Rural Uganda: Findings from the Kyaterekera Study.

Women employed by sex work (WESW) have a high risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and experience economic barriers in accessing care. However, few studies have described their financial lives and the relationship between expenditures and HIV-related behaviors. This exploratory study used financial diaries to collect expenditure and income data from WESW in Uganda over 6 months. Data were collected as part of a larger trial that tested the efficacy of an HIV prevention intervention method. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify women's income, relative expenditures, and negative cash balances. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the odds of sexual risk behavior or use of HIV medications for several cash scenarios. A total of 163 WESW were enrolled; the participants mean age was 32 years old. Sex work was the sole source of employment for most WESW (99%); their average monthly income was $62.32. Food accounted for the highest proportion of spending (44%) followed by sex work (20%) and housing expenditures (11%). WESW spent the least on health care (5%). Expenditures accounted for a large but variable proportion of these women's income (56% to 101%). Most WESW (74%) experienced a negative cash balance. Some also reported high sex work (28%), health care (24%), and education (28%) costs. The prevalence of condomless sex (77%) and sex with drugs/alcohol (70%) was high compared to use of ART/PrEP (Antiretroviral therapy/Pre-exposure prophylaxis) medications (45%). Women's cash expenditures were not statistically significantly associated with HIV-related behaviors. However, the exploratory study observed a consistent null trend of lower odds of condomless sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28-1.70), sex with drugs/alcohol (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.42-2.05), and use of ART/PrEP (AOR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.39-1.67) among women who experienced a negative cash balance versus those who did not. Similar trends were observed for other cash scenarios. Financial diaries are a feasible tool to assess the economic lives of vulnerable women. Despite having paid work, most WESW encountered a myriad of financial challenges with limited spending on HIV prevention. Financial protections and additional income-generating activities may improve their status. More robust research is needed to understand the potentially complex relationship between income, expenditures, and HIV risk among vulnerable sex workers.

Blurred border or safe harbor? Emotional well-being among sexual and gender minority adults working from home during COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adults have experienced pronounced declines in well-being. However, less is known about how changes to daily routines and settings, such as the shift to remote work within many occupations, may be playing a role in well-being outcomes. Drawing on a unique time diary data source (N = 3515 respondents and 7650 episodes) collected between April 2020–July 2021 through online crowdsourcing platforms, we conducted random effects analyses to examine how working from home has been associated with experienced well-being among LGBTQ and cisgender heterosexual workers in the United States during the pandemic. Findings indicate LGBTQ adults felt significantly less stressed and tired while doing paid work at home than while working at a workplace. In addition, working at a workplace, rather than working from home, appeared to be more detrimental to LGBTQ adults’ well-being compared to their non-LGBTQ counterparts. Adjusting for work characteristics explained some of the difference, whereas adjusting for family characteristics had little impact on the results. It is possible that for LGBTQ employees, working from home mitigates some of the minority stressors experienced during paid work.

Can a disability studies-medical sociology rapprochement help re-value the work disabled people do within their rehabilitation?

This paper draws attention to the health-related work that disabled people do when engaging with rehabilitation services. Medical sociology has a rich history of looking at the 'illness work' that patients do, while disability studies scholars have explored the cultural value placed upon paid work and the effects on social status of being unable to work. Yet, a longstanding froideur between these two disciplines, which have fundamentally opposed ontologies of illness and disability, means that neither discipline has attended closely to the rehabilitation-related work that disabled people do. The concept of 'adjusting' to illness highlights seemingly irreconcilable disciplinary differences. Yet this article argues that the notion of 'adjustment work' can elucidate the socio-political character of the work disabled people do in their rehabilitation, which could create a more substantial and sustainable dialogue on this subject between disability studies and medical sociology. To make this case, we discuss interview data from the Rights-based Rehabilitation project, which sought to explore disabled people's lived experiences of rehabilitation.

Who’s Caring for the Kids? The Earned Income Tax Credit and Childcare Arrangements

Labor force participation among mothers in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past several decades, driven in part by social policies that provide benefits that are contingent upon paid work. Little is known, however, about how these work-contingent social policies affect childcare arrangements. We study the effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)—one of the largest work-contingent cash transfer programs in the U.S.—on childcare arrangements, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Our findings suggest that, for children under three, the EITC increased the use of childcare, the number of hours children spent in care, the likelihood of parents paying for care, and the use of multiple care arrangements. It seems to have little effect on childcare arrangements for older children.

How is university students’ paid work associated with their locus of control?

This study examines whether university students doing paid work during their studies improves their internal locus of control – the belief in one’s ability to have control over their life events. Using longitudinal data on a cohort of English students, I estimate a standard skill production function and control for lagged locus of control and a rich set of covariates to partially account for unobserved heterogeneity and selection into paid work. The findings show that engagement in paid work, rather than hours spent in work, is associated with greater students’ internal locus of control. Students who have ever worked during university had 0.08 standard deviations more internal locus of control than students who do not work, and these estimates are largely relevant for term-time work. Estimates during the holidays are smaller in magnitude and statistically insignificant. I do not find any non-linearities in hours of work to skills development, nor do I find heterogeneities by gender. The findings show support for the human capital theory that work experience can help facilitate skills development.

Connecting the Young: High School Graduates’ Matching to First Jobs in Booms and Great Recessions

Abstract Using Swedish economy-wide data, we examine the relationship between business-cycle conditions and the use of social contacts in the process where young workers are matched to their first real jobs. We measure social contacts acquired during paid work during high school, and we rely on interacted class-establishment fixed-effect models to isolate the effects of interest. One-third of post-graduation matches are formed at establishments where youths worked during their studies. Graduates are much more likely to match with sites to which adult co-workers from these jobs have relocated. The importance of these job-finding channels is strongly counter-cyclical for young labour market entrants.

Gender, Paid Work, and Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults in Resource-Poor Settings of India

Gender, Paid Work, and Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults in Resource-Poor Settings of India

Association Between Paid Work and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Sukagawa Study.

In this study, we aimed to determine whether paid work has an impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among older adults. Over three years, we longitudinally collected data from 5,260 community-dwelling older adults aged 75years or older from a city in Japan. We assessed HRQOL using the Short-Form-8. We estimated the mean difference between the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) scores, which were stratified based on gender using multivariate, generalized estimating equation models. We further conducted a subgroup analysis based on the participants' occupational backgrounds. Engagement in paid work was associated with increased MCS scores across both genders and with increased PCS scores among women. In the subgroup analysis, only women who had previously worked as managerial workers showed an inverse association with MCS scores. In this population, engagement in paid work may be a crucial factor associated with well-being.

Teleworking Is Significantly Associated with Anxiety Symptoms and Sleep Disturbances among Paid Workers in the COVID-19 Era.

Due to social distancing during COVID-19, teleworking has spread in Korea. Accordingly, the effects of teleworking on physical and mental health have emerged. We aim to determine the association between teleworking and mental health, including anxiety symptoms and sleep disturbance, in paid workers. The data of paid workers from the Sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey, collected between October 2020 and April 2021, were analyzed. Gender stratification analysis and propensity score matching were performed for variables relevant to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each sex were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. Among 28,633 participants, analyses were performed for anxiety symptoms (teleworkers vs. non-teleworkers; men: 12.1% vs. 4.9%; women: 13.5% vs. 5.3%) and sleep disturbance (men: 33.6% vs. 21.3%; women: 39.7% vs. 25.3%). In male teleworkers, the AORs for anxiety symptoms and sleep disturbance were 1.86 (95% CI: 1.14-3.04) and 1.52 (95% CI: 1.10-2.11), respectively. In female teleworkers, the AORs for anxiety symptoms and sleep disturbance were 1.66 (95% CI: 1.13-2.43) and 1.65 (95% CI: 1.28-2.14), respectively. Our results emphasize the importance of mental health and the need for continuous education and care for teleworkers, given the rapid increase in teleworking.

The Myth of Men's Stable, Continuous Labor Force Attachment: Multitrajectories of U.S. Baby Boomer Men's Employment.

Over the past several decades, U.S. men's paid work has transformed from a state of high stability and continuity to a state of increased instability and precarity. Despite this, full-time employment throughout adulthood remains the presumed standard for modern American men. The authors investigated the diversity of men's workforce experiences using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth "National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - 1979 cohort" and identified six multitrajectories of men's time spent employed, unemployed, and out of the labor force from ages 27 to 49. The authors identified one multitrajectory of steady work, three of increasing unemployment or time out of work, one of increasing steady work, and one of intermittent work. Contrary to conventional assumptions, only 41 percent of men followed a trajectory of continuous, high employment over the duration of their prime earning years. This suggests that most men do not achieve the "ideal worker norm," raising implications for how research and policy conceptualize men's work experiences.

Combined effect of work from home and work during nonwork time on sleep disturbance.

Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, being exposed to work from home and work during nonwork time simultaneously can lead to sleep disturbance; however, their combined effect is unclear. We aimed to investigate the combined effect of work from home and work during nonwork time on sleep disturbance. This study used data from the Sixth Korean Working Condition Survey and included 27,473 paid workers. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between work from home, work during nonwork time, and sleep disturbance according to sex. We re-classified participants into 4 groups based on their working from home (No/Yes) and working during nonwork time (No/Yes). The relative excess risk due to interaction was calculated to examine the effect of exposure to both telecommuting and non-regular work hours on sleep disturbance. Workers exposed to work from home and work during nonwork time had significantly higher risks of sleep disturbance for all, men, and women workers (OR [95% CI]: 1.71 [1.46-2.02], 1.79 [1.43-2.23], and 1.64 [1.29-2.08] for work from home and 3.04 [2.70-3.42], 3.61 [3.09-4.22], and 2.41 [2.01-2.90] for work during nonwork time, respectively). Compared to those who were not exposed to both factors, when workers had both job factors, the ORs (95% CI) of sleep disturbance for all, men, and women were 3.93 (2.80-5.53), 5.08 (3.21-8.03), and 2.91 (1.74-4.87), respectively. The relative excess risk due to interaction of work from home and work during nonwork time was not significant for sleep disturbance. Work from home and work during nonwork time were each associated with sleep disturbance, but the interaction between the two factors on sleep disturbance was not observed in both men and women.

Parental stress during pregnancy and maternity.

To identify factors related to parental stress of women during pregnancy and the child's first month of life. Prospective longitudinal study in two stages. Analysis of home interviews with 121 participants, Gestational Stress Scale, and Parental Stress Scale. Fisher's exact test, Spearman's correlation, and linear and logistic multivariate regression were applied, with p < 0.05. Most of the participants were between 18 and 35 years old, had 11 to 13 years of education, had no paid work, had a partner, usually the child's father, planned pregnancy, were multiparous, and underwent prenatal care. During pregnancy, 67.8% had stress. In the first month after the child's birth, most had low parental stress (52.1%). High parental stress correlated with some gestational stress. Planning pregnancy decreased parental stress. Gestational and parental stress in the child's first month of life were correlated and pregnancy planning was a factor that reduced stress levels. Timely actions to reduce parental stress are essential for parenting and the child's overall health.

The Association between Replacement Drivers and Depressive Symptoms.

A replacement driver is a type of gig worker who provides driving services to the target point with the drunk driver's own car. This study aimed to examine the association of replacement drivers (ref: paid workers) with depressive symptoms. Information on replacement drivers was collected through online/offline surveys. Data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were applied to construct the control group. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9; ≥5 points was defined as depressive symptoms. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by performing multivariable logistic regression analysis. The mean age of replacement drivers was 56.11. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in replacement drivers and controls were 49.63% and 12.64%, respectively. Replacement drivers showed a higher association with depressive symptoms than paid workers (aOR 7.89, 95% CI [5.53-11.26]). This relationship was prominent in the older, low-education, and low-income groups. Linear discriminant analysis was the most effective in predicting depressive symptoms among the machine learning models. Using the replacement driver feature increased the AUC values of the models. Given the strong association between depressive symptoms and replacement drivers, in-depth studies to establish guidelines to prevent mental diseases among replacement drivers are required.

Long-term outcomes for females with early-onset dystrophinopathy.

To study long-term disease course for females with early-onset dystrophinopathy, including common (female) symptoms, challenges in social participation, the need for care, and current healthcare management to support guideline development. Twelve females with early-onset dystrophinopathy were followed for a median period of more than 17 years (range 1-36). One patient died owing to end-stage cardiac failure. Cardiac abnormalities were observed in three of the remaining 11 participants. Respiratory function was reduced in seven of 10 participants. Fatigue, myalgia, lower back pain, and arthralgia were reported in more than six of the participants. Functional status varied from exercise intolerance to wheelchair dependency. Most or all of the 10 participants reported restrictions in participation in work (n=10), household duties (n=10), sports (n=9), and education (n=8). Only a few participants received followed-up pulmonary (n=2) or rehabilitation (n=3) care. Females with early-onset dystrophinopathy experience a wide range of impairments, comorbidities, limitations in activities, and restrictions in social participation. The whole spectrum should be acknowledged in the healthcare setting. Neuromuscular and cardiac follow-up are indispensable. Additional respiratory assessment and rehabilitation care are expected to improve health status and support daily activities and participation. No standard diagnostic procedures seem to exist for female patients suspected for dystrophinopathy. Female participants with early-onset dystrophinopathy experienced a broad scope of burdening symptoms, such as fatigue, myalgia, lower back pain, and arthralgia. None of participants worked full time, all felt restricted in paid work, and most felt restricted in education. Most participants showed decreased lung function, while only one was symptomatic. Availability of rehabilitation care may improve support for daily activities and participation for females with early-onset dystrophinopathy.

The Mediating Role of Family and Job Satisfaction in the Relationships between Work-Family Conflict and Enrichment and Life Satisfaction of Women with Paid Work

For women, working outside the home can both consume and generate personal resources, which in turn can have an impact in their work and family domains. In this study, direct and indirect relationships were explored between work-to-family conflict and work-to-family enrichment, job satisfaction, satisfaction with family life and satisfaction with life, in a sample of 473 women with paid work and adolescent children in Temuco, Chile. Using structural equation modelling, results showed that participants’ satisfaction with life was associated with their satisfaction in both work and family domains. Evidence was also found for underlying mechanisms explaining the relationship between work-to-family conflict and life satisfaction, and between work-to-family enrichment and life satisfaction. These findings contribute to organizational-level knowledge for designing practices and strategies to promote favourable conditions to increase women’s work-to-family enrichment.

The gendered division of paid and domestic work under lockdown

AbstractThis paper provides novel empirical evidence on the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the division of labour between parents of school‐aged children in two‐parent opposite‐gender families. In line with existing evidence, we find that mothers’ paid work took a larger hit than that of fathers, and that mothers spent substantially longer doing childcare and housework than their partners. We go further to show that these gender differences cannot be explained by gender differences in the industries and occupations in which parents worked prior to the lockdown. Nor can they be explained by gender differences in earnings prior to the crisis: independently of which parent earned the most before the pandemic, it tended to be the mothers who adjusted time spent on paid and unpaid work more significantly. This is the case even in households where only one partner remained active in paid work. While we cannot fully rule out that these asymmetric responses are explained by gender differences in productivity in domestic work, our results do suggest that other factors, such as gender norms, may play an important role.

Gender, Religion, and Employment: How LDS Working Women Navigate Familial Conflict Concerning Their Paid Work

ABSTRACT Employment practices in America demonstrate one area in which gender theory provides a framework for understanding women’s economic behaviors and their families’ responses to their employment status. Religion has often functioned as a determinant of gender roles and employment practices. The present study explored the intersection of gender, religion, and female employment by focusing on a population with high levels of religiosity, women who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as Mormons. While highly educated, LDS women are less likely to work due to religiously prescribed gender roles. This study specifically examined how LDS women navigate familial conflict concerning their paid work. An online survey solicited detailed responses from 215 LDS women. The author used a grounded theory methodology to analyze the data and develop a model for understanding how LDS women and their families navigate conflict concerning a woman’s paid work. The resulting theory describes the influence of religion on decision-making processes and management of conflict regarding women’s paid work. Most importantly, the study reveals the powerful role of religion in determining beliefs about gender roles and its influence on women’s fight for equality within faith communities and within families.

Hormonal IUD is the major hormonal contraceptive method used among women aged 40–49 years: Data from the 2015–16 Tromsø Study, Norway

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate hormonal contraceptive (HC) use and user characteristics in women aged 40–49 years in Norway, as little is known on use of HCs in this age segment. Material and methodsThis prevalence study included 2296 women aged 40–49 years who participated in the 2015–16 Tromsø Study, which collected self-reported sociodemographic information and data from a wide range of validated health questionnaires. The participants had been sexually active the last 12 months prior enrollment, were not pregnant, not trying to conceive, and had no prior fertility problems. We categorized use of HC into three groups; no HC use, hormonal IUD use and other HC use. Explanatory variables included demographic, educational, economic and general health variables. All analyses were performed in SPSS with chi-square test and logistic regression at significance level p < 0.05. ResultsNearly 50 % of the study sample reported HC use with hormonal IUD use as the major method (39.5 %/40–44 years; 43.4 %/45–49 years old women). There were no differences in HC use by partner status, educational level, or BMI. Though statistically significant, we found only minor differences in HC use by occupational status, gross household income, and general health status, with higher proportions of women with no paid work, the lowest income, and poor health status reporting no HC use. ConclusionThe high HC use and the minor differences found across demographic and socioeconomic parameters indicate that HC use, and hormonal IUD use in particular, is widely used among middle-aged women living in the city of Tromsø.

Exploring the contributions of concepts of time to pension studies in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom

PurposeThis article aims to link discussions of the role of earnings-related pension measures with time in Hong Kong (HK) and the United Kingdom (UK). It presents a new conceptual “time-based framework” to explore two related types of government response to the way people accumulate pension incomes through participation in paid work. The first is to consider governments' perceptions of appropriate time in work and retirement. The second is to consider how governments use pension measures to influence the connection between the amount of time people spend in paid work and retirement.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper. The time-based framework is developed using literature concerning discretionary time and the social construction of time. To explore the empirical significance of this framework, the authors discuss how it can be applied to the analysis of earnings-related pension measures in HK and the UK.FindingsThe evidence generated from the discussion of the earnings-related pension measures in HK and the UK shows that pension policies can serve both as a financial and time instrument. At the same time as influencing the connection between the amount of time people spend in paid work and the pensions they can accumulate, pension policies can be used to convey the government's views on important time issues, namely the appropriate length of time in work and retirement, and the relative value of the time spent in paid work and providing informal care.Originality/valueA new framework is developed to explore the connection between the studies of earnings-related pension measures and time, which is an understudied area.