Ervin Jennifer, Churchill Brendan, Taouk Yamna, Ruppanner Leah, King Tania
School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2025 Jun 24. doi: 10.1136/jech-2024-223378.
Underemployment is an increasing feature of global labour markets. However, the mental health impacts of underemployment remain relatively under-researched. Longitudinal evidence is particularly sparse, as is accounting for gender differences in the association. Addressing key gaps, this study examines the association between time-related underemployment and mental health in Australian adults.
Pooled panel data from 21 waves (2002-2022) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (n=18 288 participants, 124 531 observations) was used. Fixed-effects linear regression and Mundlak adjustment modelling was conducted to examine how time-related underemployment (not underemployed, underemployed 1-5, 6-10, 11-20 and ≥21 hours) was associated with 5-item mental health scale, with adjustment for time-varying confounders.
A stepwise (or dose-dependent) association was observed between increasing time-related underemployment and mental health for both genders, with the strongest association observed in those underemployed by ≥21 hours for both women (-1.88, 95% CI -3.09 to -0.67) and men (-2.24, 95% CI -3.59 to -0.89). Some gender differences were observed. Most notably, more women in our sample were underemployed compared with men.
Addressing rising underemployment in labour markets has the potential to improve population mental health for everyone. Furthermore, targeted social policy to reduce gendered exposure to underemployment in Australia is also key to mental health gains in working-age women.
就业不足是全球劳动力市场日益凸显的一个特征。然而，就业不足对心理健康的影响仍相对缺乏研究。纵向证据尤为稀少，对该关联中性别差异的考量也很欠缺。为填补关键空白，本研究考察了澳大利亚成年人中与时间相关的就业不足和心理健康之间的关联。
使用了来自澳大利亚家庭、收入与劳动力动态调查21轮（2002 - 2022年）的合并面板数据（n = 18288名参与者，124531次观测）。进行了固定效应线性回归和蒙德拉科调整建模，以检验与时间相关的就业不足（未就业不足、就业不足1 - 5小时、6 - 10小时、11 - 20小时和≥21小时）如何与5项心理健康量表相关联，并对随时间变化的混杂因素进行了调整。
在两性中，均观察到与时间相关的就业不足增加与心理健康之间存在逐步（或剂量依赖）关联，在就业不足≥21小时的女性（-1.88，95%置信区间 -3.09至 -0.67）和男性（-2.24，95%置信区间 -3.59至 -0.89）中观察到的关联最强。观察到了一些性别差异。最显著的是，我们样本中的就业不足女性比男性更多。
解决劳动力市场中不断上升的就业不足问题有可能改善所有人的心理健康。此外，在澳大利亚制定有针对性的社会政策以减少女性就业不足的情况，也是实现育龄女性心理健康改善的关键。
