Fixed-term contracts are increasingly prevalent in Germany. Linked to this “objective” dimension of insecure work are the subjective lived realities of fears surrounding job loss. This study uses the German Socio-Economic Panel to explore how these objective and subjective conditions relate to each other: Although there is an overlap, subjective and objective conditions of contractual insecurity are clearly not congruent. Using longitudinal data, the analysis explores over the period from 2007 to 2011 the well-being trajectories of people initially aged 27-33, a neglected age group in analyses of employment. A dual-domain latent growth-curve analysis of work and life satisfaction over time highlights the pervasive detrimental effects of workers’ worries. Subjective fears, not employment on an objectively insecure contract, adversely impact well-being and these effects last over time. In line with Bourdieu’s precarity thesis, the effects of insecurity permeate beyond the objective conditions of an insecure contract. As in many other domains of life education stratifies how workers experience contractual insecurity, so that for those with less than a high level of education, a fixed-term contract is associated with diminished well-being that lasts over time. Moreover, for these workers there is an interaction effect between subjective worries and objective conditions. A select group of highly educated workers who do not worry about their work security experience no adverse well-being effects from a fixed-term contract.
Presented by:
Shireen Kanji (University of Leicester)
Date & time:
October 13, 2014 2:00 pm - October 13, 2014 3:30 pm
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