A 2015 report by the International Labour Organization covering more than 180 countries and over 84% of the global workforce warned of “widespread job insecurity in the global labor market,” finding that only one-quarter of the world’s workers have a stable employment relationship. In the United States, according to the 2016 Work and Well-Being Survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, more than one in three working adults report job insecurity as a significant source of stress.
If You Live in an Area with High Income Inequality, You’re More Likely to Burn Out at Work
It has to do with job insecurity.
May 17, 2017
Summary.
Global surveys have shown that job insecurity is widespread. By some estimates, only one quarter of the world’s workers has a stable employment relationship. New research shows that income inequality might make such stress even more difficult to cope with. Analyzing data from 23,778 individuals in 30 countries, the researchers found that employees in high income inequality countries who were experiencing job insecurity reacted with even higher levels of job burnout, compared to employees in countries with lower income inequality. In a second study, they narrowed their focus to state-level income inequality within the United States. Using data from 402 individuals in 47 states and the District of Columbia, they again found more extreme burnout reactions to job insecurity among employees in states with higher income inequality, compared to those living in states with lower income inequality. Interestingly, in Utah, Alaska, and Idaho — states with relatively low income inequality — job-insecure employees reported similar levels of burnout as job-secure employees. That is, job insecurity was unrelated to burnout among employees in these three states. Taken together, the results indicate that country and state-level income inequality makes job insecurity worse for employees.