Abstract
Backgrounds Few studies have addressed the specific contribution of health in relation to socio-demographic and motivational aspects to re-entering paid employment. The purpose of this study among beneficiaries of unemployment benefits is to evaluate the detrimental effects of poor health and a lack of motivation on the likelihood of getting a job and to develop a decision support model that predicts remaining unemployment after 12 months. Methods A longitudinal cohort study was conducted among people on unemployment benefit (UB) or social insurance benefit (SIB). The time-window of the study was 18 months. Written questionnaires were filled out 3 months post-benefit assessment, 6, 12 and 18 months. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the barriers of re-entering paid employment. Subsequently, a predictive model was constructed to estimate the probability for every combination of determinants for a person to remain unemployed in the next 12 months. Results Older age (≥55 years), a poor perceived health, and a lack of willingness to accept a job were the most prominent predictive factors for remaining unemployed after 12 months in both UB and SIB groups. Lower education in the UB group and being married or living together and poor self-reliance in the SIB group were additional risk factors for long-term unemployment. Conclusion Vocational rehabilitation of people on long-term social benefit should address perceived health, socio-demographic, and motivational aspects as key factors that determine prolonged unemployment. A predictive flow chart can be used to detect most vulnerable persons at risk for remaining long-term unemployment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Waddell G, Burton AK. Is work good for your health and well-being?. London: TSO; 2006.
CBS. Numbers on the dutch labour market. Voorburg,: Statistics Netherlands; 2010. www.statline.cbs.nl.
Wilson SH, Walker GM. Unemployment and health: a review. Public Health. 1993;107(3):153–62.
Bartley M. Unemployment and ill health: understanding the relationship. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1994;48(4):333–7.
McKee-Ryan F, Song Z, Wanberg CR, Kinicki AJ. Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: a meta-analytic study. J Appl Psychol. 2005;90(1):53–76.
Schuring M, Mackenbach J, Voorham T, Burdorf A. The effect of re-employment on perceived health. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011;65(7):639–44.
Pohjola A. Health problems and long-term unemployment. Soc Work Health Care. 2001;34(1):101–12.
McDonough P, Amick BC 3rd. The social context of health selection: a longitudinal study of health and employment. Soc Sci Med. 2001;53(1):135–45.
Veerman TJ, de Zwart BCH. Ongelijke kansen bij sollicitaties [inequity in applying for a job]. Econ Stat Ber. 2008;93(4536):330–2.
Black BC. Working for a healthier tomorrow. review of the health of britain’s working age population. London: Crown Copyright; 2008.
Hammarstrom A, Janlert U. An agenda for unemployment research: a challenge for public health. Int J Health Serv. 2005;35(4):765–77.
Claussen B, Bjorndal A, Hjort PF. Health and re-employment in a two year follow up of long term unemployed. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1993;47(1):14–8.
Gelderblom A, de Koning J. Effecten van ‘zachte’ kenmerken op de re-integratie van de WWB, WW en AO populatie—een literatuurstudie [effects of soft characteristics on reintegration of people on social benefit—a literature study]. Rotterdam: SEOR; 2007.
Schreurs B, Derous E, Van Hooft EAJ, Proost K, DeWitte K. Predicting applicants’ job pursuit behavior from their selection expectations: the mediating role of the theory of planned behavior. J Organ Behav. 2009;30:761–83.
Vinokur AD, Schul Y, Vuori J, Price RH. Two years after a job loss: long-term impact of the JOBS program on reemployment and mental health. J Occup Health Psychol. 2000;5(1):32–47.
Bambra C, Whitehead M, Hamilton V. Does ‘welfare-to-work’ work? A systematic review of the effectiveness of the UK’s welfare-to-work programmes for people with a disability or chronic illness. Soc Sci Med. 2005;60(9):1905–18.
Van ‘t Hooft EAJ, Taris TW, Born MP, Blonk RWB. Bridging the gap between intentions and behavior: Implementing intentions, action control, and procrastination. J Vocat Behav. 2005;66:238–56.
Garcia-Gomez P, Jones AM, Rice N. Health effects on labour market exits and entries. Labour Econ. 2010;17:62–76.
Stewart JM. The impact of health status on the duration of unemployment spells and the implications for studies of the impact of unemployment on health status. J Health Econ. 2001;20(5):781–96.
Methods and concepts [homepage on the Internet]. Voorburg: Statistics Netherlands (CBS). 2010 [cited June 2011]. Available from: http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/methoden/begrippen/default.htm?ConceptID=37.
Ware JE Jr, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992;30(692278120):473–83.
Hoff S, Jehoel-Gijsbers G. Een bestaan zonder baan. een vergelijkende studie onder werklozen, arbeidsongeschikten en werkenden (1974–1995). [A living without job. A comparative study among unemplyed, work disabled and employed people (1974–1995)]; The Hague: SCP; 1998.
Judge TA. Core self-evaluations and work success. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2009;18(1):58–62.
Erez A, Judge TA. Relationship of core self-evaluations to goal setting, motivation, and performance. J Appl Psychol. 2001;86(6):1270–9.
Kleinbaum DG, Klein M. Logistic regression—a self-learning text. 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag, Inc.; 2002.
Lötters F, Burdorf A, Kuiper J, Miedema H. Model for the work-relatedness of low-back pain. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2003;29(6):431–40.
Steenbeek R, Jettinghoff K. Werkhervatting van zieke en niet-zieke werklozen [workretention of ill and non-ill unemployed people]. TBV. 2008;16(5):189–94.
van den Berg T, Schuring M, Avendano M, Mackenbach J, Burdorf A. The impact of ill health on exit from paid employment in europe among older workers. Occup Environ Med. 2010;67(12):845–52.
Kanfer R, Wanberg CR, Kantrowitz TM. Job search and employment: a personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic review. J Appl Psychol. 2001;86(5):837–55.
Wanberg CR, Hough LM, Song Z. Predictive validity of a multidisciplinary model of reemployment success. J Appl Psychol. 2002;87(6):1100–20.
Kuiper JI, Burdorf A, Frings-Dresen MH, Kuijer PP, Spreeuwers D, Lötters FJB, et al. Assessing the work-relatedness of nonspecific low-back pain. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2005;31(3):237–43.
Kuijer PPFM, Molen HF van der, Frings-Dresen MHW. Berichten uit het NCvB. sterke toename van het aantal beroepsziektemeldingen door aandoeningen aan het bewegingsapparaat. Tijdschrift voor Bedrijfs- en Verzekeringsgeneeskunde. 2010;18(1):37–8.
Schuring M, Burdorf A, Voorham AJ, der Weduwe K, Mackenbach JP. Effectiveness of a health promotion programme for long-term unemployed subjects with health problems: a randomised controlled trial. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009;63(11):893–9.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Inspection of Work & Income (IWI) of the ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (minSZW) for releasing their extensive dataset in order to be able to conduct present study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lötters, F., Carlier, B., Bakker, B. et al. The Influence of Perceived Health on Labour Participation Among Long Term Unemployed. J Occup Rehabil 23, 300–308 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-012-9398-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-012-9398-5