Work factors, welfare regimes and health - The effects of psychosocial work factors on the health of older European workers and the impact of different welfare regimes

Abstract: The Demand-Control Model and the Effort-Reward-Imbalance Model are two models of occupational health that connects psychosocial work factors to health. Related research has often focused on small and homogenous samples and has rarely taken into account the eventual intermediating effect of different welfare regimes. Furthermore results regarding gender have been ambiguous. Through logistic regression analysis and in a context of current population ageing, this thesis explores the impact of psychosocial factors at work on the health of a sample of older European workers and investigates differences between gender and between workers in states with different welfare regimes. The paper finds support for the models in their predictability on health and reveals differences in work experience between welfare regimes. However, the impacts of demands, controls, efforts and rewards at work do not differ in a structural way between the two studied regimes. Furthermore female health tends to be impacted more profoundly by lack of control and poor job security than men. Although further research is needed, these findings may be beneficial for proposals to overcome challenges stemming from population ageing