Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health conditions worldwide. A significant factor influencing mental health for many adults is job-related stress, with job insecurity playing a central role. Stress and burnout from work can stem from various sources, including uncertainty around employment status, lack of workplace flexibility, low employee engagement, strained relationships with colleagues, and sudden workplace adjustments. Feelings of job insecurity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as Americans faced rising unemployment rates and drastic changes in workplace conditions. The pandemic is an example of how job insecurity causes varying levels of distress as changes in the labor market affect individuals differently.
Research at the Boston University School of Public Health explored the relationship between job insecurity, workplace flexibility, and psychological distress. In a cross-sectional study that gathered data from the National Health Interview Survey from May 2023 to January 2024, the researchers studied job security and flexibility among employed adults over 18 years old. Job security was measured as the perceived feeling of job loss using a 4-point scale where higher scores indicated greater job security. The findings revealed that job flexibility was associated with a 25% reduction in psychological distress, as measured by the Kessler-6 scale. Additionally, greater job security was associated with a 21% decrease in the likelihood of experiencing anxiety weekly. The study also found an inverse relationship between job security and work absenteeism, suggesting that job security, flexibility, and work engagement are important contributors to mental health.
For many individuals, work is a common cause of anxiety and stress.
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Given that job insecurity is linked to increased distress, developing skills to navigate situations during economic turbulence is important. Another study in 2021 evaluated how various coping strategies impacted feelings of anxiety due to job insecurity. The researchers focused on 3 cognitive coping mechanisms: career planning, reappraisal, and distraction. Planning includes developing an organized step-by-step guide to adjust to a situation, reappraisal involves changing mental attitudes toward a circumstance, and distraction avoids the situation by redirecting feelings away from the stressor. The longitudinal study concluded that the effectiveness of these coping strategies varied at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the pandemic, distraction was the most effective at reducing job insecurity, while reappraisal and planning had little impact. This suggests that distraction allowed individuals to detach from immediate stressors when they had limited control over outcomes. On March 27, 2020, the White House passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which marked the transition into the adjustment phase of the pandemic. During this phase, planning emerged as the most effective strategy in alleviating job insecurity. As individuals became more proactive and developed concrete plans to address the changing economic crisis, their concerns about job loss diminished. These findings highlight the importance of understanding contextual events in helping individuals develop strategies to approach job insecurity and reduce anxiety related to work.
With constant changes in the economy, employment and employee status have substantial impacts on mental health outcomes. Workplace policies regarding job flexibility and feelings of employment security affect levels of anxiety and distress in the long term. By developing adaptive strategies that respond to economic changes, organizations can better advocate for and protect employee mental health and well-being. These strategies can help create a more resilient workforce, reducing the long-term impact of anxiety and distress associated with job insecurity and workplace stressors.
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