State Contexts, Job Insecurity, and Subjective Well-being in the Time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic and psychological consequences beyond its direct influence on population health. Guided by stress process theory, we theorize a cross-level amplified stress proliferation process. That is, macro-level epidemiological, economic, and policy shocks proliferate into individual-level perceived job insecurity, which in turn deteriorates subjective well-being; macro-level shocks may additionally amplify the well-being risk of insecurity. To test these propositions, we use fixed-effects models to analyze three-wave, nationally representative data on 1,306 U.S. workers (May 2020–June 2021). Living in states with growing COVID-19 rates, rising unemployment rates, or increasingly stringent containment policies heightens workers’ perceived job insecurity, which in turn predicts reduced mental health and life satisfaction. Additionally, workers livings in states with growing COVID-19 rates or increasingly stringent containment policies are particularly susceptible to the mental health cost of increased job insecurity. Combined, this research demonstrates the exposure and vulnerability mechanisms through which state environments shape well-being.