Precaire tewerkstelling en het welzijn van Belgische werknemers: de rol van subjectieve materiële deprivatie op huishoudniveau en de werk-privébalans

In recent decades, labor markets of high-income countries such as Belgium, have been subject to a process of de-standardization. This meant that the number of people with standard, full-time jobs was decreasing while at the same time there was an increase in de-standardized jobs. De-standardized jobs are often associated with adverse health and well-being outcomes. The notion of ‘precariousness’, which pays attention to the quality of the working situation, tries to capture the consequences of de-standardization. Nevertheless, an approach that focuses exclusively on work-related aspects, risks losing sight of the broader social context in which workers are embedded. This study therefore investigated how the social context determines the impact of precarious jobs on well-being. More specifically, we investigated the role of the household context through subjective material deprivation and work-life balance. Regression analyses were conducted on the recently collected (2019) EPRES-be dataset (n = 2.707) with the aim of examining precarious employment in Belgium. The results showed a positive association between precarious employment and low well-being. The household context proved important in explaining that relationship. The effect of precarious employment on well-being was partly explained by subjective material deprivation and the work-life balance.