Workplace autonomy and mental health

Publication type

Journal Article

Author

Publication date

February 15, 2025

Summary:

This paper explores the relationship between work-related autonomy and mental health. Using Understanding Society data from the United Kingdom, I assess the association between mental health and autonomy, defined across five different dimensions, using a range of different controls, including person and occupation fixed effects. I find low work-related autonomy consistently associates with poor mental health. The degree of selection bias on observable controls is small. Finally, I bound causal effects under assumptions about the degree of confoundedness of unobservables, and assess the possibility of reverse causality.

Published in

Economics and Human Biology

Volume

Volume: 56

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101469

ISSN

1570677

Subjects

#588558

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