Employment status and subjective well-being: The role of the social norm to work
Stam,K. Sieben,I.J.P. Verbakel,C.M.C. de Graaf,P.M.
Stam,K.
Sieben,I.J.P.
Verbakel,C.M.C.
de Graaf,P.M.
Abstract
This article examines to what extent a social norm to work moderates the relationship between employment status and subjective well-being. It was expected that the detrimental impact of non-employment on subjective well-being would be larger in countries with a stronger social norm. Using a direct measure of the social norm to work and employing data from 45 European countries, this study assessed subjective well-being levels of five employment status groups for men and women separately. Results showed that subjective well-being of unemployed men and women is unaffected by the social norm to work. However, non-working disabled men are worse off in countries with a stronger norm. Living in such a country also decreases the well-being gap between employed and retired men, whereas retired women are worse off in these countries. This effect for retirees disappears when a country’s GDP is taken into account, suggesting that norms matter less than affluence.
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Date
2016
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Research Projects
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Stam, K, Sieben, I J P, Verbakel, C M C & de Graaf, P M 2016, 'Employment status and subjective well-being : The role of the social norm to work ', Work, Employment and Society, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 309-333. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017014564602
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info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess