This study uses nationally representative panel survey data for Australia to identify the role played by mismatches between hours actually worked and working time preferences in contributing to reported levels of job and life satisfaction. Three main conclusions emerge. First, it is not the number of hours worked that matters for subjective well-being, but working time mismatch. Second, overemployment is a more serious problem than is underemployment. Third, while the magnitude of the impact of overemployment may seem small in absolute terms, relative to other variables, such as disability, the effect is quite large.

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Working Time Mismatch and Subjective Well‐being

Depression is a common mental disorder. Several studies suggest that lifestyle and health status are associated with depression. However, only a few large-scale longitudinal studies have been conducted on this topic. The subjects were middle-aged and elderly Japanese adults between the ages of 40 and 69 years. A total of 9,650 respondents completed questionnaires for the baseline survey and participated in the second wave of the survey, which was conducted 7 years later. We excluded those who complained of depressive symptoms in the baseline survey and analyzed data for the remaining 9,201 individuals. In the second-wave survey, the DSM-12D was used to determine depression. We examined the risks associated with health status and lifestyle factors in the baseline survey using a logistic regression model. An age-adjusted analysis showed an increased risk of depression in those who had poor perceived health and chronic diseases in both sexes. In men, those who were physically inactive also had an increased risk of depression. In women, the analysis also showed an increased risk of depression those with a BMI of 25 or more, in those sleeping 9 hours a day or more and who were current smokers. A multivariate analysis showed that increased risks of depression still existed in men who had chronic diseases and who were physically inactive, and in women who had poor perceived health and who had a BMI of 25 or more. These results suggest that lifestyle and health status are risk factors for depression. Having a chronic disease and physical inactivity were distinctive risk factors for depression in men. On the other hand, poor perceived health and a BMI of 25 or more were distinctive risk factors for depression in women. Preventive measures for depression must therefore take gender into account.

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Health status and lifestyle factors as predictors of depression in middle-aged and elderly Japanese adults: a seven-year follow-up of the Komo-Ise cohort study

This paper reviews some of the possible changes that may occur in the national labour markets of
many OECD countries as a result of international trade and the internationalisation of production by
multinational companies, with a particular focus on the impact of outward foreign direct investment (FDI)
from OECD countries on employment in the home country of the investing firms. Existing studies suggest
that the overall impact of trade and the internationalisation of production on aggregate labour market
outcomes has been comparatively small, although particular skill and occupational groups have been
affected more strongly. The empirical findings in the paper suggest that the aggregate employment impact
of outward FDI varies across industries and countries. For manufacturing industries with strong
commercial links with the non-OECD economies, there is evidence that domestic employment has become
more sensitive to movements in domestic labour costs. At the country level, the growth of outward
investment is found to have a significant positive effect on domestic employment growth in the United
States. In contrast, there is a negative association in Japan, especially from outward investment in China.

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The Internationalisation of Production, International Outsourcing and Employment in the OECD

This paper examines how changes in macroeconomy environment and employment situation affected the workaholism trend among Japanese workers. Results of the analysis indicated that the driven component of workaholism remained high from the beginning of the 1990s when the bubble economy collapsed and throughout the 1990s. However, the enjoyment of work component has decreased for this period, causing the workaholic tendencies to be more serious in the worsening economic and employment circumstances. Moreover, the level of work overload actually increased for engineers and workers in their 30s and 40s in the middle of the economic depression. Based on these results, economic changes vs job demand interaction mechanism was presented and needed employee‐support policy directions were presented.

Effects of economic environmental changes on job demands and workaholism in Japan

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association of employment contract, company size, and occupation with psychological distress using a nationally representative sample of the Japanese population. Methods: From June through July 2007, a total of 9,461 male and 7,717 female employees living in the community were randomly selected and surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire and interview including questions about occupational class variables, psychological distress (K6 scale), treatment for mental disorders, and other covariates. Results: Among males, part-time workers had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than permanent workers. Among females, temporary/contract workers had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than permanent workers. Among males, those who worked at companies with 300-999 employees had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than those who worked at the smallest companies (with 1-29 employees). Company size was not significantly associated with psychological distress among females. Additionally, occupation was not significantly associated with psychological distress among males or females. Similar patterns were observed when the analyses were conducted for those who had psychological distress and/or received treatment for mental disorders. Conclusions: Working as part-time workers, for males, and as temporary/contract workers, for females, may be associated with poor mental health in Japan. No clear gradient in mental health along company size or occupation was observed in Japan.

日本労働研究機構

Papers

White paper on the labour economy