Are there health benefits of being unionized in late career? A longitudinal approach using HRS

Wels, Jacques

doi:10.1002/ajim.22877

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A third type of studies has very recently focused on the individual relationship between union membership – and, to a lesser extent, presence – and health mainly using individual longitudinal data in the US and the UK. These studies have demonstrated contradictory results that show either a positive 38,39 or a negative relationship 3 mainly due to the nature of the variables used to capture trade union presence or membership and the control variables included in the models. A few other studies have focused on the benefits of using a longitudinal approach to assess the association between union membership and wages 40 or job satisfaction 41 but such a perspective is still rare when looking at health, and particularly mental health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Kromydas,

Demou,

Leyland

et al. 2023

Preprint

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BackgroundTrade union presence within a workplace could potentially affect employees’ working conditions and in turn health. We assessed the relationship between union (presence and membership) at the individual level and mental health in the context of COVID-19 employment disruptions.MethodsWe analysed panel data from Understanding Society collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (49,915 observations across 5,988 respondents) to assess the relationship between union presence and membership and a validated epidemiological measure of common mental disorders (CMD), the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire with a score of >/4 indicating probable anxiety/depression, referred to as caseness. A mixed-effect log-linear model assessed effect heterogeneity across time and industries, with average marginal effects (AME) indicating effect differences between groups.FindingsIn our sample, 49.1% worked in a unionised workplace, among which 53.8% were union members. Caseness prevalence was higher during the pandemic (25.4%) compared to pre-pandemic (18.4%). Working in a workplace with a trade union was associated with modest protection against CMD risk; (AMEpre-pandemic:0.010, 95%CI:-0.007; 0.027), (AME-pandemic:-0.002, 95%CI:-0.019; 0.016)]. Similarly, for union membership [(AMEpre-pandemic:0.016, 95%CI:-0.007; 0.039), (AMEpandemic:-0.010, 95%CI:-0.023; 0.020)]. Industry level heterogeneity exists in the relationship between union presence and membership and mental health.InterpretationTrade union presence may have a protective effect on workers mental health in periods of crisis, such as during a pandemic. Within unionised workplaces, trade union membership further mitigated the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health. Collective negotiation within workplaces may be protective in periods of uncertainty, benefiting all workers and not only those unionised.FundingMedical Research Council, Chief Scientist Office, European Research Council, Belgian National Scientific Fund (FNRS).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Kromydas,

Demou,

Leyland

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Finally, collective bargaining and trade union membership may also play a role in explaining older workers' health variations. Using the Health and Retirement Study for the United States, I have shown that unionized workers are less likely than non-unionized workers to experience a negative change in self-perceived health and depression level during the different types of late career transitions (Wels 2018b). Unionized workers are also more likely to retire before non-unionized workers.…”

Section: The Association Between Late Career Transitions and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between self-reported health, late career transitions and working time modulations in England

Wels

2019

IJWHM

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Background. There is an emerging literature focusing on the impact of late career transitions on health, but little is known about the role working time modulations might play in explaining older workers' health. Methods. Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) waves 4 to 7, the article assesses the association between the different types of change in working time, the total weekly working hours at baseline and the level of income and the change in self-reported health (SPH). The model controls for financial wealth, qualification, gender, age, the sector of activity and self-reported health at baseline. Results. Respondents who retire have a better SPH compared with those who keep working at constant working time. Those who work long hours benefit more from retiring. Respondents working long hours before being unemployed tend to be less affected by a negative change in SPH. Those who reduce working time by 50 per cent or more and work long hours at baseline have lower probabilities to be affected by a negative change in SPH compared with those who work fewer hours. Finally, low-paid workers are those who benefit the most from retiring or reducing working time. Conclusion. There is a significant association between change in working time and change in self-reported health that needs to be investigated in further research. Results point out the need to foster working time arrangements for low-paid workers.

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“…The association captured in this paper corresponds to what was observed during a particular period, particularly characterised both by restricted access to this arrangement and by a less positive impact on the calculation of the state pension.It is based on a two-wave sequence and does not capture the long-run changes in SPH, depression level and quality of life. Even though extending the analysis to three waves would not be likely to affect the sense of the association significantly (Wels, 2018), it can be expected that the long-run impact of change in working time might differ from the short-term impact (Coe and Zamarro, 2011). Although, this would reduce the size of the sample drastically, particularly because of a relatively high attrition rate.It controls for the sector of activity but does not look in depth at what the dynamics are that might be observed at the sector level, particularly in sectors of activity characterised by shift work, night work or short-term contracts.It uses different models for distinguishing those who reduced working time in addition to social benefits from those who did not.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is based on a two-wave sequence and does not capture the long-run changes in SPH, depression level and quality of life. Even though extending the analysis to three waves would not be likely to affect the sense of the association significantly (Wels, 2018), it can be expected that the long-run impact of change in working time might differ from the short-term impact (Coe and Zamarro, 2011). Although, this would reduce the size of the sample drastically, particularly because of a relatively high attrition rate.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impact of partial early retirement on self-perceived health, depression level and quality of life in Belgium: a longitudinal perspective using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

Wels

2018

Ageing and Society

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For about 20 years, Belgium has successfully implemented working-time reduction policies for the older workforce. However, the impact of such policies on health has not been explored yet. Using longitudinal data from Waves 5 and 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (N = 1,498), the paper assesses whether working-time reduction in late career is associated with a change in self-perceived health, depression (EURO-D) and quality of life (CASP-12). For that purpose, ordered logit and ordinary least squares regressions are performed, using four different models for defining working-time reductions. Results show that people reducing working time with or without additional social benefits tend to have a poorer self-perceived health at follow-up compared with people keeping the same or increasing working time. By comparison, people moving to retirement are more likely to present a better self-perceived health, depression level and quality of life compared to people increasing or keeping the same working-time level. Although, introducing an interaction effect, the paper shows that the change in quality of life for respondents reducing working hours in addition to social benefits tends to be less negative for those who wished to retire early at baseline than for those who did not.

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Are there health benefits of being unionized in late career? A longitudinal approach using HRS

Abstract: The reasons for the associations found in this paper need to be explored in further research.

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Trade unions and mental health during an employment crisis. Evidence from the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The association between self-reported health, late career transitions and working time modulations in England

Assessing the impact of partial early retirement on self-perceived health, depression level and quality of life in Belgium: a longitudinal perspective using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

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