The effect of job characteristic on health

OBJECTIVE – The objective of this thesis is to find evidence on the effect of job characteristics on health. This is done on the basis of hypotheses based on the dominant literature in this field of study: the demand-control model of Karasek (1979), the Whitehall studies (Marmot et al., 1991), the effort-reward imbalance model (Siegrist, 1996) and the work of economist, amongst others Case & Deaton (2005). METHODS – This thesis is based on the fifth wave (year 2010) of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EFILWC). Statistical analysis was performed, mainly using ordered logistic regression analysis. FINDINGS – Low job control at work is negatively related to health, and so is high job demand. However, the combination of both does not reinforce the negative effect. High effort has a negative impact on health. There might be a possibility that this negative effect can be partly offset by the positive effect of reward, but it is rejected that, if properly rewarded, high effort does not have a negative impact on health. No evidence is found for the economics hypothesis that high effort is compensated for in terms of reward.