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Long Working Hours and Job Quality in Europe: Gender and Welfare State Differences

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  • Lucía Artazcoz

    (Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
    CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
    Center for Research in Occupational Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
    Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB-Sant Pau), 08041 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Imma Cortès-Franch

    (Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
    CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
    Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB-Sant Pau), 08041 Barcelona, Spain
    Departament de Pediatria, Obstetrícia i Ginecologia, i de Medicina Preventiva, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Vicenta Escribà-Agüir

    (Centre for Public Health Research (Health Inequalities Area), Nursing Department, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
    Valencian School for Health Studies, Regional Ministry of Health. Generalitat Valenciana, 46010 Valencia, Spain)

  • María López

    (Center for Research in Occupational Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08002 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Fernando G. Benavides

    (CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
    Center for Research in Occupational Health, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08002 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

Chronic extreme long working hours (LWH) have been found consistently associated with poor health status. However, the evidence for moderately LWH (41–60 h a week) is contradictory. Although poor job quality has been proposed as one of the mechanisms of this relationship, there are almost no studies about LWH and job quality. The objectives of this study were to analyze the association between moderately LWH and job quality in the EU27, as well as to examine differences by welfare regimes and gender. This is a cross-sectional study based on data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey. A subsample of employees from the EU27 aged 16–64 years who worked 30–60 h a week was selected (12,574 men and 8787 women). Overall, moderately LWH were not consistently associated with poor job quality except among women from Eastern European countries. Therefore, in the EU27 poor job quality does not seem to explain the relationship between moderately LWH and poor health status. The findings among women from Eastern European countries may be related to their weakened position in the labor market and to their work-family conflict resulting from a process of re-familisation that constrains their choices for a good job.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucía Artazcoz & Imma Cortès-Franch & Vicenta Escribà-Agüir & María López & Fernando G. Benavides, 2018. "Long Working Hours and Job Quality in Europe: Gender and Welfare State Differences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2592-:d:184178
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nils Backhaus, 2022. "Working Time Control and Variability in Europe Revisited: Correlations with Health, Sleep, and Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Paula Franklin & Wouter Zwysen & Agnieszka Piasna, 2022. "Temporal Dimensions of Job Quality and Gender: Exploring Differences in the Associations of Working Time and Health between Women and Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-18, April.

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