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Good for the soul: The relationship between work, wellbeing and psychological capital

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  • Cole, Kenneth
  • Daly, Anne
  • Mak, Anita

Abstract

Research shows that unemployment negatively affects a person's wellbeing, which in turn can impair their ability to regain employment. Studies also suggest a person's 'psychological capital' (PK) (personality traits that influence the productivity of labour) influences the impact of unemployment on wellbeing and facilitates re-employment. This paper combines various economic and psychological theories of unemployment, and using 2004 cross-sectional data from Australia, tests the hypothesis of a simultaneous relationship between employment status and wellbeing and the mediating role of PK. Results support a simultaneous relationship and the partial mediating effect of PK. Individuals with poor PK are at greater risk of being unemployed.

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  • Cole, Kenneth & Daly, Anne & Mak, Anita, 2009. "Good for the soul: The relationship between work, wellbeing and psychological capital," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 464-474, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:38:y:2009:i:3:p:464-474
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    4. Takis Venetoklis, 2019. "Do interactions cancel associations of subjective well-being with individual-level socioeconomic characteristics? An exploratory analysis using the European Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3033-3061, November.
    5. Francesco Bogliacino & Cristiano Codagnone & Frans Folkvord & Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, 2023. "The impact of labour market shocks on mental health: evidence from the Covid-19 first wave," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(3), pages 899-930, October.
    6. Peter Meer, 2014. "Gender, Unemployment and Subjective Well-Being: Why Being Unemployed Is Worse for Men than for Women," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 23-44, January.
    7. Zhou Jiang & Xiaowen Hu, 2016. "Knowledge Sharing and Life Satisfaction: The Roles of Colleague Relationships and Gender," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 379-394, March.
    8. Tushar Bharati & Thea Harpley Green, 2021. "Age at school transition and children’s cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 21-06, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    9. Brown, Sarah & Gray, Daniel, 2016. "Household finances and well-being in Australia: An empirical analysis of comparison effects," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 17-36.
    10. L. Lambert D’raven & N. Pasha-Zaidi, 2016. "Using the PERMA Model in the United Arab Emirates," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 905-933, February.
    11. Bender, Keith A., 2012. "An analysis of well-being in retirement: The role of pensions, health, and ‘voluntariness’ of retirement," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 424-433.
    12. Rita Chiesa & Luca Fazi & Dina Guglielmi & Marco Giovanni Mariani, 2018. "Enhancing Substainability: Psychological Capital, Perceived Employability, and Job Insecurity in Different Work Contract Conditions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-10, July.
    13. Thomas Hyclak & Chad Meyerhoefer & Larry Taylor, 2015. "Older Americans’ health and the Great Recession," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 413-436, June.
    14. Conti-Ramsden, Gina & Durkin, Kevin & Mok, Pearl L.H. & Toseeb, Umar & Botting, Nicola, 2016. "Health, employment and relationships: Correlates of personal wellbeing in young adults with and without a history of childhood language impairment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 20-28.
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    16. Sarah Brown & Daniel Gray, 2014. "Household Finances and Well-Being: An Empirical Analysis of Comparison Effects," Working Papers 2014015, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.

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    Unemployment Personality Wellbeing;

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