A study by the Institute for Research in Human Resources Psychology, Organisational Development and Quality of Working Life (IDOCAL) of the University of València (UV) concludes that both salary and type of contract (permanent or temporary) influence the occupational health of individuals through different explanatory mechanisms, while the type of work schedule (full-time or part-time) does not affect the health of employees. The study has been published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.
Previous studies have shown that certain job characteristics are related to workers' health. "What was not clear is why, that is, what mechanisms explain this relationship", explains Vicente González Romá, professor of Work and Organisational Psychology at the UV and one of the authors of the paper, which presents results that support the existence of two pathways to understand the relationship between job quality and workers' health: motivation at work and job insecurity or fear of losing one’s job.
Regarding the first pathway, the results show that salary promotes employee motivation, which in turn is positively related to health. "In other words, salary has a positive influence on health because it enhances work motivation", explains Marija Davcheva, PhD from the University of València and the first author of the article.
Regarding the second pathway, a higher salary and having a permanent contract (as opposed to a temporary one) reduce the fear of losing one’s job (i.e., job insecurity), which in turn promotes employees' health. "In other words, the salary and having a permanent contract has a positive influence on health because the stress associated with the fear of losing one’s job is reduced", says Ana Hernández, lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Sciences Methodology.
In contrast, the results of the study show that the working time (full-time or part-time) has no relationship with the health of employees.
"Our work highlights that having a job with certain characteristics (permanent contract, decent salary) has favourable consequences for both workers and companies", specifies Inés Tomás, professor in the Department of Behavioural Sciences Methodology. "For workers, a quality job implies having resources that promote their job security and motivation and their health. For companies, offering quality jobs can contribute to reducing the costs associated with sick leave and to improving performance through work motivation", concludes the researcher.
This study, on 247 employed individuals over 17 years of age, received collaboration from the former Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Article reference: Davcheva, M., González-Romá, V., Hernández, A. & Tomás, I. (2024). The Influence of Employment Quality on Employee Health Complaints: A Parallel Mediation Model. Journal of Business and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09944-9
