Resumen de Job quality: antecedents and influence on employee health and wellbeing
Job quality is critical for policymakers as it is a key for employee quality of life, sustainable organizations and societies. However, more research and deeper analysis is needed to understand what job quality is, its antecedents, and outcomes. Acknowledging the complexity and multidimensional nature of job quality, this thesis aims to expand its nomological network by investigating the relationships between specific job quality indicators (objective and subjective), their antecedents, and, in particular, their influence on employee health and wellbeing (in particular eudaimonic wellbeing at work). Data in the three studies were collected from panel respondents via an online questionnaire. Study 1 in a sample of 562 employees examined the differential contributions of traditional job quality indicators to perceived job quality and what they depend on. Results from the hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that employees in full-time and permanent employment perceived higher job quality than employees in part-time and temporary employment. Horizontal misfit and overeducation were negatively related to perceived job quality. Results showed that preferences for employment relationship (full-time vs part-time) played a moderating role when gender was included as a moderator in the model. Full-time job preference boosted the positive "effect" of full-time jobs on perceived job quality, only for women. In contrast, for men, having a part-time job preference boosted the positive "effect" of full-time jobs on perceived job quality. Study 2 in a sample of 252 employees, tested the mediating role of work engagement and affective job insecurity in the employment quality -employee health complaints relationship. Latent structural equation modelling results showed that 1) employment quality was negatively related to employee health complaints via work engagement, 2) positively related to employee health complaints via affective job insecurity, 3) the two indirect effects did not differ statistically. Study 3 in a sample of 263 employees focused on a subjective job quality indicator -work meaningfulness from a worker centric approach and examined its antecedents (e.g., employability dimensions) and impact on eudaimonic wellbeing at work (personal growth at work and purpose in career). Path analysis results showed positive direct relationships between career identity and social capital on one side, and eudaimonic wellbeing at work on the other. Results showed that work meaningfulness mediated the positive relationships between career identity, social capital and human capital on one side, and personal growth at work, and purpose in career on the other side. Our findings answer the call for research that entangles the complexity of job quality and contributes to a refinement of the job quality theory while offering practical recommendations for the multiple stakeholders involved in the job quality challenge.
