De winnaars en verliezers van de economische crisis [Winners and losers of the economic crisis]
article
A lot has been published on the effects of economic crises on health, especially on stress and depression, but little on the effects on working hours, working relations and working conditions. And even less on the categories of workers whose position improved or deteriorated during the crisis. This article tries to fill these gaps. Use is made of data gathered with the Netherlands Working Conditions Surveys during the period 2007-2016, with work-related information concerning about 280,000 employees, so on average 28,000 employees a year. It was concluded that during those ten years a lot changed in the field of working contracts and working hours. Flexible contracts increased on average from 16 to 25 percent of the working population. Working hours fell from 32 to 29 hours per employee per week. Challenging work and job control decreased. Work pressure, burnout complaints, and job insecurity increased. It was striking that conflicts with colleagues, leaders and employers decreased too. The results were interpreted using five theoretical crisis-related mechanisms (cost reduction, pressure, centralization, back-to-basics, and less mutual support). Finally, it was concluded that younger and less educated employees, in particular, could be labeled as losers in the crisis. It was difficult to point out winners in the crisis, because older and more highly educated employees were also affected by these events, although to a lesser extent. Job insecurity increased even most among older employees.
TNO Identifier
814329
Source
Tijdschrift voor Arbeidsvraagstukken, 34(2), pp. 121-137.
Pages
121-137