Work Flexibility and Work-Related Well-Being Across Work Arrangements

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ray T
• Description:
  Objective: We assessed the prevalence of work flexibility by work arrangement type among U.S. workers during 2002-2014. We further investigated whether work flexibility was associated with work-related well-being, expressed as job satisfaction, job stress, and health-related quality of life (HRQL). Analyses: We used data from the Quality of Work life (QWL) module of the General Social Survey (GSS). Funded by the National Science Foundation, GSS is a biannual nationally representative cross-sectional survey of U.S. households conducted through face-to-face personal interviews by the National Opinion Research Center. GSS utilizes a multi-stage probability design yielding a representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized, English-speaking, U.S. adult population (Grosch et al., 2006). In 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014, GSS was supplemented with a QWL module. Developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with contributions by its partners, QWL assessed an array of psychosocial working conditions and quality of work life topics among GSS respondents who were either employed or looking for work. We analyzed pooled cross sectional data from 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 (weighted sample of 5911 observations). To assess work arrangements, we distributed the study sample into five mutually exclusive groups based on responses to the question, How would you describe your employment arrangement in your main job? Response categories were: (1) independent contractor/independent consultant/freelance worker, (2) on call worker/works only when called, (3) paid by temporary agency, (4) working for a contractor who provides workers and services to others under contract, and (5) regular permanent employee (standard). Overall work flexibility changed minimally during 2002-2014, although some individual flexibility variables followed cyclical trends. Work arrangement was an important determinant of work flexibility. After controlling for demographics and overall health status, work flexibility was positively associated with well-being. Additional results will be presented at the conference. Practical Implications The study demonstrated the importance of work flexibility for well-being and provided valuable information about flexibility by work arrangement type. As far as we know, this is the first study on this topic in the US context. Our findings are relevant for various stakeholders, including policy makers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace
• Keywords:
  Employee Satisfaction Health Surveys Humans Job Stress Policy Psychosocial Factors Quality Of Life Quality Of Work Life QWL Sociological Factors Temporary Workers Work Environment Worker Health Worker Safety Work Operations Workplace Studies Work Practices Work Schedules

  More +
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  176-177
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059094
• Citation:
  Work, Stress and Health 2019, November 6-9, 2019, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2019 Nov; :176-177
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Work, Stress and Health 2019, November 6-9, 2019, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b033b41cce6eb4dfe21919ce2b45c492186abbd588b388d3edaf4b671a0924eef5e005acb5695be63fd00ab1782a78f65aaa312257492713354e5389f1ad688c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223412/cdc_223412_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 121.44 KB ]