Gig work and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: A gendered examination of comparisons with regular employment and unemployment.

The rise of the platform economy during the Covid-19 pandemic has stimulated extensive discussions about whether gig workers can obtain equivalent mental health benefits of regular paid employment. Drawing on nationally representative data in the UK, this study aims to examine (1) whether transitioning from no paid work to gig work during Covid-19 is associated with better or worse mental health compared with those who remained not employed and those who became employed in regular jobs; (2) what mechanisms can explain the mental health differences; (3) how the patterns may differ by gender. The results show that transition into gig work is associated with better mental health compared with those who remained not employed, but this pattern is only for male (rather than female) gig workers and can be largely explained by their better financial situation and lower level of loneliness. For both men and women, the transition into gig work is associated with worse mental health compared with the transition into regular employment, but the mechanisms vary across genders. For male gig workers, both higher levels of financial precarity and loneliness in gig work can explain their mental health disadvantages compared with regular workers, but for female gig workers, none of them is at work. These findings facilitate a better understanding of the health consequences of the gig economy, revealing important gender-differentiated socio-psychological mechanisms through which gig work shapes mental health.

Who Gains Mental Health Benefits from Work Autonomy? The Roles of Gender and Occupational Class.

In recent years, improving work autonomy as an important priority in the UK labour market has been shown to enhance employee mental health and well-being. However, previous theories and empirical studies have paid little attention to the intersectional inequalities in the mental health benefits of work autonomy, preventing us from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the mental consequences of work autonomy. By integrating literature from occupational psychology, gender and social class, this study develops theoretical hypotheses regarding whether and how the mental health benefits of work autonomy vary alongside the intersectional axes of gender and occupational class and tests these hypotheses using long-term panel data in the UK (2010-2021). Overall, we find that those from higher occupational class and male employees acquire significantly more mental health benefits from high work autonomy compared with those from lower occupational class and female employees. Moreover, further analyses show significant intersectional inequalities of gender and occupational class. While male employees from all occupational classes gain significant mental health benefits from work autonomy, only female employees from higher (but not lower) occupational classes benefit from work autonomy. These findings contribute to the literature in the sociology of work by demonstrating the intersectional inequalities in mental health consequences of work autonomy, especially for women in the lower occupational class, highlighting the need for a more gender- and occupation-sensitive design in future labour market policies.

From Housewives to Employees, the Mental Benefits of Employment across Women with Different Gender Role Attitudes and Parenthood Status.

Previous studies suggest that paid employment can improve workers' mental health status by offering a series of manifest and latent benefits (i.e., income, self-achievement and social engagement), which motivates policymakers' ongoing promotion of labour force participation as an approach to protect women's mental health status. This study extends the literature by investigating the mental health consequences of housewives' transition into paid employment across different gender role attitude groups. In addition, the study also tests the potential moderating role of the presence of children in relationships. This study yields two major findings by using nationally representative data (N = 1222) from the United Kingdom Longitudinal Household Study (2010-2014) and OLS regressions. First, from the first wave to the next, housewives who transitioned into paid employment reported better mental health status than those who remained housewives. Second, the presence of children can moderate such associations, but only among housewives with more traditional gender role attitudes. Specifically, among the traditional group, the mental benefits of transition into paid employment are more pronounced among those without children. Therefore, policymakers should develop more innovative approaches to promote housewives' mental health by considering a more gender-role-attitudes-sensitive design of future labour market policies.

Can Teleworking Improve Workers' Job Satisfaction? Exploring the Roles of Gender and Emotional Well-Being.

With the rise of teleworking during the past decades, the impacts of teleworking on job satisfaction have been extensively debated. Teleworking might benefit workers by improving work-life balance and emotional well-being, but it also brings considerable challenges. This study empirically investigates the impacts of teleworking on workers' enjoyment across daily working episodes and job satisfaction and its gendered patterns, using Ordinary Least Squares regressions and the latest nationally representative time-use survey data in the UK. Moreover, it uses the Karlson/Holm/Breen (KHB) decomposition method to examine the role of enjoyment at work in mediating the associations between teleworking and job satisfaction. Overall, this study yields two major findings. First, among men, teleworkers tend to have higher levels of enjoyment at work and job satisfaction, but this is not the case for women. Second, around 46% of teleworking's positive impacts on men's job satisfaction can be explained by higher levels of enjoyment at work. Taken together, by integrating different theoretical perspectives on teleworking, gender and emotional well-being, this study provides interdisciplinary insights into the nuanced social consequences of teleworking, highlights the disadvantaged position of women in the use of teleworking, and demonstrates the need to enhance emotional well-being in future labour market policies.

Can Volunteering Buffer the Negative Impacts of Unemployment and Economic Inactivity on Mental Health? Longitudinal Evidence from the United Kingdom.

Previous research suggests that volunteering can mitigate the negative mental health impacts of unemployment but has yielded mixed results. This study extends the previous literature by examining whether volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of both unemployment and economic inactivity on mental health. Using nationally representative panel data from the United Kingdom Longitudinal Household Study (2010-2020) and fixed effects models, this study yields three important findings: First, volunteering cannot mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment, regardless of gender. Second, frequent volunteering (at least once per month) can benefit the mental health of economically inactive groups (e.g., family care and long-term sickness). Third, the study reveals the gendered patterns of the impacts of volunteering. Specifically, frequent volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of family care or long-term sickness for men, and the negative impacts of unpaid work for women. Overall, these findings contribute towards a more nuanced understanding of the buffering role of volunteering and its gendered patterns. Policymakers should offer more volunteering opportunities and training to these economically inactive groups to reduce their risk of mental issues.