Young and at risk? Consequences of job insecurity for mental health and satisfaction among labor market entrants with different levels of education

Abstract

Young workers are often temporarily employed and thus likely to experience job insecurity. This study investigates associations of objective job insecurity (i.e., temporary employment) and subjectively perceived job insecurity with mental health, job satisfaction and life satisfaction among young workers, testing the moderating role of education. The longitudinal analysis based on 1522 labor market entrants from the German Socio-Economic Panel revealed that subjective job insecurity was associated with decreased mental health and lower satisfaction, whereas objective job insecurity was not. Three levels of education were differentiated: university degree, vocational training and low-qualified. There was weak evidence that those with vocational qualifications were more vulnerable to subjective job insecurity than either the low-qualified or university graduates. The results suggest that irrespective of education, detrimental consequences of subjective job insecurity emerge early in the career. Access to secure employment should be improved for young workers to prevent early dissatisfaction and impairment of their mental health.