Employment types and subjective wellbeing: Evidence from the english longitudinal survey of ageing

Abstract

Using seven waves of the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA), this chapter examines the impact of labour market attachments on subjective wellbeing (SWB) and quality of life (QoL), during employment and retirement. The authors show that that permanent employees (as opposed to temporary employees) and self-employed (as opposed to paid employees) report higher levels of SWB and QoL throughout their working lives. They argue that this is because permanent employees and the self-employed become more attached to their jobs due to a perceived stronger job-identity fit. However, in retirement, withdrawal from the labour market represents a loss of this identity. Thus, a significant drop in..