Precarious Work as Risk Factor for 5-Year Increase in Depressive Symptoms among 2,009 Employees in Germany

Einleitung Half of all previous longitudinal studies on effects of precarious work on depressive symptoms (n=22) are carried out in Scandinavia, one in Germany. Two third of the studies covered job insecurity, three were on fixed term contract, two on unemployment; no studies were on marginal part time work (German „mini-, midijob“) or low wage. A third of all studies investigated if effects differed between men and women. Aim of the present study was to investigate longitudinal relationships between precarious work and depressive symptoms in a representative cohort of employees in Germany.

Methoden In the German Study on Mental Health at Work (S-MGA) (N=2,009), the baseline population consisted of all employees in Germany aged 31–60 years included in a social security scheme set up by the government, covering more than 80% of all workers (i.e., without civil servants, self-employed individuals and freelancers). Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Precarious work was measured through baseline self-reported job insecurity, marginal part-time, fixed-term contract, hourly wage and – during follow-up – unemployment. We ran logistic regression analyses stratified by gender with depressive symptoms at follow-up as dependent variable, adjusting for age, gender, socioeconomic position and partner status.

Ergebnisse Women experienced precarious work more often than men did. Among women, no indicator of precarious work were associated with development of depressive symptoms. Among men, job insecurity (OR: 2.47; 95% 95% CI: 1.37-4.48), low wage (3.79; 1.64-8.72) and unemployment (3.07; 1.28-7.37) were associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up; marginal part-time and fixed-term contract were not. Among women, a cumulative exposure index of precarious work (Index summarizing experience of a: job insecurity, b: low wage, and c: unemployment) was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms (1 indicator: 1.52; 0.93-2.49, ≥2 indicators: 1.74; 0.76-3.98). Among men, this index was a significant predictor (1 indicator: 1.84; 0.94-3.60, ≥2 indicators: 7.65; 3.30-17.73). The Population Attributable Fraction of precarious work due to depressive symptoms among men was around 30%. Among women, no attributable fraction was estimated.

Schlussfolgerung Among employees in Germany, the present study indicates that precarious work is an important risk factor for depressive symptoms among men, but not among women. This gender difference is in line with other studies looking at this. Little is known why effects seem differ by gender. The present study confirms elevated risks of job insecurity on depressive symptoms found in 14 other studies – among these also one other German study. Regarding other indicators of precarious work, too few studies allow for a comparison with the present study’s results. The elevated risk regarding unemployment was also found by the above mentioned German study. Longitudinal research on more types on precarious employment is needed.

Publication History

Article published online:
22 August 2022