Different exit routes from unemployment and their impact on mental well-being: The role of the economic situation and the predictability of the life course
M. Strandh, Different exit routes from unemployment and their impact on mental well-being: The role of the economic situation and the predictability of the life course, WORK EMPLOY, 14(3), 2000, pp. 459-479
The relationship between unemployment and mental well-being has been thorou
ghly researched. Longitudinal studies have shown unemployment to have negat
ive impact on mental well-being, whereas re-employment has positive impact.
This research has however taken little interest in a more complex concept
of labour market status than just 'employment versus unemployment', or inde
ed other alternative exit routes from unemployment. In this article, an inv
estigation is made into the impact of different exit routes from unemployme
nt on mental well-being. This is done using a longitudinal and nationally r
epresentative survey of 3,500 unemployed Swedes. The results indicate that
the mental well-being outcome of exiting unemployment is related to how the
new status resolves economic difficulties and the uncertainty faced in the
unemployment situation. The increase in mental well-being when re-entering
paid labour is differentiated depending on the contractual situation. Exit
to permanent employment means a larger increase in mental well-being than
exit to temporary employment or self-employment. Exit to university educati
on increases mental well-being, whereas exit to high-school equivalent stud
ies does not. Exit from unemployment to maternity/paternity leave increases
mental well-being, exit to sick leave reduces mental well-being, while exi
t to early retirement pension does not significantly change the mental well
-being.