Precarious Work and Mental Health among Young Adults: A Vicious Circle?

Abstract

Anincreasing number of studies and practical experience confirmthat employment quality and security affect the mental and physical wellbeing of workers. This applies even more to those who are included in precarious types of work, as these are  marked by work process inclusion uncertainty and lower quality in several dimensions of work performance. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to analyse mental health self-perception in individuals who have described their work as precarious. The study involved 201 participants aged 18 to 40 years old working in Slovenia. This is one of the first studies focusing on this topic on a Slovenian sample. Results evidence that those performing precarious work report low life satisfaction, including higher depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion symptom incidence, confirming that performing precarious work is connected with poorer emotional health indicators in young adults.