Several European countries implemented initiatives to boost the growth of the domestic cleaning sector. Few studies investigated the quality of work in these initiatives, although effects on workers' health and on social health inequalities can be expected. This study contributes to the scant research on this subject, by investigating the quality of work in the Belgian service voucher system - a subsidized system for domestic work. The applied research methodology includes a qualitative content analysis of parliamentary debates, legislation and previous research about the service voucher system and of 40 in-depth interviews with service voucher workers. The study shows that the legal framework that regulates the system must be further enhanced in order to improve the quality of work in the service voucher system. In addition, the actors involved must be better controlled, and sanctioned in case of non-compliance with legislation.

BackgroundIn the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession, youth unemployment rates in the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) increased. The aim of this study is firstly to investigate the evolution of the mental health gap between employed and unemployed youth and secondly to examine the association of material and social resources with mental health of youth entering the labour market in the BCR.MethodsTwo data sources are used to answer the research questions: the Belgian Health Interview Survey (HIS) data (1997 to 2013; 18- to 29-year-olds; N = 5,562), and the authors’ own primary data collection among Brussels youth in the transition from education to employment (2015; 18- to 29-year-olds; N = 1,151; BCR-sample). Prevalence ratios, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses are used to explore mental distress and possible mental disorder amongst this particular group of youth.ResultsThe results show a consistent tendency towards increasing mental health problems for unemployed, compared to employed youth in the 1997–2013 period in the three Belgian Regions. Both social support and the living arrangements of men are related to mental distress and a possible mental disorder. The perception of a poor financial situation is related to a possible mental disorder. Our study also found that escape-avoidance behaviour is important in explaining both adverse mental health outcomes amongst women.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the mental health gap between employed and unemployed youth increases and demonstrates the importance of material and social resources for the mental health of unemployed youth. These results can contribute to discussions on unemployment policies targeting vulnerable youth.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13690-017-0187-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Since Margaret Thatcher reached power in the United Kingdom, European governments have increasingly turned to neoliberal forms of policy-making, focusing, especially after the 2008 Great Recession on ‘austerity policies’ rather than investing in social protection policies. We applied a multiple explanatory case studies methodology to examine how and why challenges and resistance to these austerity measures are successful or not in four settings for three different social policy issues: using a gender lens in state budgeting in Andalusia (Spain), maintaining unemployment benefits in Italy and cuts to fuel poverty reduction programs in Northern Ireland and England. In particular, we intended to learn about whether resistance strategies are shared across disparate cases or whether there are unique activities that lead to successful resistance to austerity policies. As our approach drew from realist philosophy of science, we started with initial theories concerning collective action, political ideology and political power of affected populations. Our findings suggest that there are similarities between the cases we studied despite differences in political and policy contexts. We found that joint action between advocacy groups was effective in resisting cuts to social spending. Evidence also indicates that the social construction of target populations is important in resisting changes to social programmes. This was observed in both England and Northern Ireland where pensioners held significant political clout.

Background: This study investigates the association between forms of capital and mental health among unemployed youth, with a specific focus on the mediating role of feelings of deprivation and self-esteem as "mechanisms of embodiment". Methods: The study is based on a primary data collection among unemployed Brussels youth in the transition from education to employment (2015; 18-to 29-year-olds; N = 1151). Multi-group Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to explore the association between forms of capital, mechanisms of embodiment and mental health. Results: Our results show that different forms of capital are related to the mental health of unemployed youth. These associations are partly mediated by feelings of deprivation and self-esteem. Clear gender differences in these relations are found. Conclusions: The results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the mental health situation during the transition from education to employment, by showing how "subjective mechanisms" are explaining the relations between "objective resources" and mental health.

In recent decades, labor markets of high-income countries such as Belgium, have been subject to a process of de-standardization. This meant that the number of people with standard, full-time jobs was decreasing while at the same time there was an increase in de-standardized jobs. De-standardized jobs are often associated with adverse health and well-being outcomes. The notion of ‘precariousness’, which pays attention to the quality of the working situation, tries to capture the consequences of de-standardization. Nevertheless, an approach that focuses exclusively on work-related aspects, risks losing sight of the broader social context in which workers are embedded. This study therefore investigated how the social context determines the impact of precarious jobs on well-being. More specifically, we investigated the role of the household context through subjective material deprivation and work-life balance. Regression analyses were conducted on the recently collected (2019) EPRES-be dataset (n = 2.707) with the aim of examining precarious employment in Belgium. The results showed a positive association between precarious employment and low well-being. The household context proved important in explaining that relationship. The effect of precarious employment on well-being was partly explained by subjective material deprivation and the work-life balance.