The restorative effect of work after unemployment: An intra-individual analysis of subjective well-being recovery through reemployment

Ying Zhou, Min Zou, Stephen Woods, Chia Huei Wu

Research output: Contribution to conference typesPaperpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

A substantial body of research shows that unemployment has detrimental effects on individuals subjective well-being, which is consistent with the prediction of the theory of latent functions of employment. However, empirical research also shows that individuals generally fail to return to their baseline well-being even after exiting unemployment, a puzzle that runs counter to the latent functions theory. This study argues that the scarring effect uncovered by the previous literature is largely a statistical artefact resulting from the use of inadequate measures of baseline well-being and failure to distinguish those who follow different routes to exit unemployment. Applying fixed effect modelling to a UK longitudinal survey that followed approximately 10,000 individuals annually for eighteen years, this study shows that recovery of subjective well-being upon re-employment is fast, complete and enduring. By contrast, transitions into economic inactivity are accompanied by persistent scars on subsequent well-being trajectory. This study contributes to the literature by closing a hitherto unresolved gap in the explanatory power of latent function theory and similar work characteristics perspectives on the effects of re-employment.

Original languageEnglish
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Event78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2018 - Chicago, United States
Duration: 10 Aug 201814 Aug 2018

Conference

Conference78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period10/08/201814/08/2018

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