Health as a Rich People's Game through the Lens of Work and Income

• In Event: Precarious and Non-Traditional Hour Work Schedules: Examining the Working Conditions, Social Support, and Long-Term Trajectories

Abstract

Background: The growing reliance on work that is uncertain, insecure, and unstable – so-called precarious employment – has transformed work for many from a resource to a vulnerability for our health and well-being.

Methods: Using longitudinal data from the NLSY79 cohort (n ≈ 6,666) in the United States, we focused on two social determinants of health (SDOH) – work and family income – with a life course lens to examine physical and mental health at age 50, with attention to the moderating roles of gender, race-ethnicity, and education. We used sequence analysis to categorize work and family income trajectories and multivariate regression to examine the relationship between work and family income trajectories on health at age 50.

Results: Our sequence analysis reveals four diverse work clusters ranging from stable standard daytime hours to volatile work patterns (e.g., not working, working evening or night hours, or variable hours) and four family income clusters ranging from upward mobility to persistent low-income patterns. Our multivariate regression suggests a strong income gradient in health, playing a critical role in cushioning the otherwise adverse effects on health due to volatile work patterns, whereas limited and volatile income exacerbates the negative effects of volatile work patterns on health. These adverse associations were particularly pronounced for females, with no interaction effects associated with race-ethnicity or education.

Conclusions: Taken together, our results demonstrate a strong income gradient in health, yet they might be moderated by diverse work patterns, with significant implications of how work and income as SODH factors play critical roles in shaping intergenerational poverty and inequality.

Author

• Wen-Jui Han, New York University
  Presenting Author