IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ozl/journl/v12y2009i3p299-320.html

Mental Health and Hours Worked Among Nurses

Author

Listed:
  • Nerina Vecchio

    (Griffith University)

  • Paul Scuffham

    (Griffith University)

Abstract

Accounting for the endogenous relationship between health and hours worked, the goal of this study was to estimate the effect of mental health on the working hours of nursing professionals. The impact of hours worked on mental health was also investigated. The data was based on the Work Outcomes Research Cost-benefit (WORC) survey conducted in Australia during 2005 and 2006. The study sample of 6086 nurses represented ~15 per cent of nurses in Queensland. Analysis involved the use of simultaneous equations estimated with Generalized Method of Moments. The analysis of the data identified an endogenous relationship between mental health and hours of labour supplied. The findings revealed that among Queensland nurses, a deterioration of mental health was associated with a reduction in hours worked and increasing hours worsened mental health. The findings imply that an effective approach to meeting nursing shortages should include strategic attempts to improve the mental health capital of nursing staff. Previous studies have shown resilience training in the workplace as effective in increasing the supply of labour.

Suggested Citation

  • Nerina Vecchio & Paul Scuffham, 2009. "Mental Health and Hours Worked Among Nurses," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 12(3), pages 299-320.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:12:y:2009:i:3:p:299-320
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE123vecchio.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pinka Chatterji & Margarita Alegría & Mingshan Lu & David Takeuchi, 2007. "Psychiatric disorders and labor market outcomes: evidence from the National Latino and Asian American Study," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(10), pages 1069-1090.
    2. Zhang, Xiaohui & Zhao, Xueyan & Harris, Anthony, 2009. "Chronic diseases and labour force participation in Australia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 91-108, January.
    3. Arber, Sara & Cooper, Helen, 1999. "Gender differences in health in later life: the new paradox?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 61-76, January.
    4. Dewa, Carolyn S. & Lin, Elizabeth, 2000. "Chronic physical illness, psychiatric disorder and disability in the workplace," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 41-50, July.
    5. Christopher F Baum, 2006. "An Introduction to Modern Econometrics using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LLC, number imeus, August.
    6. Michael A. Shields & Melanie E. Ward, "undated". "Improving Nurse Retention in the British National Health Service: The Impact of Job Satisfaction on Intentions to Quit," Discussion Papers in Public Sector Economics 00/3, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester.
    7. Ana Llena‐Nozal & Maarten Lindeboom & France Portrait, 2004. "The effect of work on mental health: does occupation matter?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(10), pages 1045-1062, October.
    8. Pinka Chatterji & Margarita Alegría & Mingshan Lu & David Takeuchi, 2007. "Psychiatric disorders and labor market outcomes: evidence from the National Latino and Asian American Study," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(10), pages 1069-1090, October.
    9. Lixin Cai, 2009. "Effects of Health on Wages of Australian Men," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(270), pages 290-306, September.
    10. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    11. Wilson, Chris M. & Oswald, Andrew J., "undated". "How Does Marriage Affect Physical and Psychological Health? A Survey of the Longitudinal Evidence," Economic Research Papers 269622, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    12. Carmichael, Fiona & Charles, Susan, 2003. "The opportunity costs of informal care: does gender matter?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 781-803, September.
    13. Emanuela Antonazzo & Anthony Scott & Diane Skatun & Robert. F. Elliott, 2003. "The labour market for nursing: a review of the labour supply literature," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(6), pages 465-478, June.
    14. Michael A. Shields, 2004. "Addressing nurse shortages: what can policy makers learn from the econometric evidence on nurse labour supply?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(499), pages 464-498, November.
    15. Waldron, Ingrid, 1983. "Sex differences in illness incidence, prognosis and mortality: Issues and evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 17(16), pages 1107-1123, January.
    16. Steven Stern, 1989. "Measuring the Effect of Disability on Labor Force Participation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(3), pages 361-395.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:edg:anecon:0054 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Atsuko Tanaka & Laurel Beck, "undated". "Mental Well-being of the Bereaved and Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers 2015-24, Department of Economics, University of Calgary, revised 19 Nov 2015.
    3. Ebaidalla Mahjoub Ebaidalla & Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali, 2018. "Chronic Illness and Labor Market Participation in Arab Countries: Evidence from Egypt and Tunisia," Working Papers 1229, Economic Research Forum, revised 10 Oct 2018.
    4. Alberto Martini & Enrico Rettore & Gian Paolo Barbetta & Fabio Sandrolini, 2022. "When Non-Compliance Carries the Day: Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Employment Program for the Severely Mentally Ill," Evaluation Review, , vol. 46(5), pages 555-577, October.
    5. Chatterji, Pinka & Alegria, Margarita & Takeuchi, David, 2011. "Psychiatric disorders and labor market outcomes: Evidence from the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 858-868.
    6. Zhao, Yuejun, 2023. "Job displacement and the mental health of households: Burden sharing counteracts spillover," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Thomas Barnay, 2016. "Health, work and working conditions: a review of the European economic literature," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(6), pages 693-709, July.
    8. Roy, Soumyadip & Orazem, Peter F., 2021. "Active leisure, passive leisure and health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    9. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2011. "Evidence on the Long Shadow of Poor Mental Health across Three Generations," IZA Discussion Papers 6014, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Germinario, Giuseppe & Amin, Vikesh & Flores, Carlos A. & Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso, 2022. "What can we learn about the effect of mental health on labor market outcomes under weak assumptions? Evidence from the NLSY79," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Tomohiko INUI & Atsushi KAWAKAMI & Xin Xin MA & Meng ZHAO, 2019. "Does Mental Health Affect Labor Market Outcomes? Evidence from a National Representative Survey in Japan," Discussion papers 19061, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    12. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, 2015. "Estado de salud y participación laboral: Evidencia para Colombia," Borradores de Economia 851, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    13. de Oliveira, Claire & Jamieson, Margaret & Bonato, Sara, 2025. "Mental health as a determinant of work: a scoping review on the impact of mental health on precarious employment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    14. Abid A. Burki & Mushtaq A. Khan & Sobia Malik, 2015. "From Chronic Disease to Food Poverty: Evidence from Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 54(1), pages 17-33.
    15. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, 2016. "Health status and labor force participation: evidence for urban low and middle income individuals in Colombia," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 15(1), pages 33-55, April.
    16. Anthony Harris, 2009. "Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Labour Force Participation in Australia: An Endogenous Multivariate Probit Analysis of Clinical Prevalence Data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(271), pages 472-484, December.
    17. Evans-Lacko, Sara & Knapp, Martin & McCrone, Paul & Thornicroft, Graham & Mojtabai, Ramin, 2013. "The mental health consequences of the recession: economic hardship and employment of people with mental health problems in 27 European countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51632, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Lebenbaum, Michael & Laporte, Audrey & de Oliveira, Claire, 2021. "The effect of mental health on social capital: An instrumental variable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    19. Bubonya, Melisa & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Ribar, David C., 2017. "The Bilateral Relationship between Depressive Symptoms and Employment Status," IZA Discussion Papers 10653, IZA Network @ LISER.
    20. Lixin Cai & Changxin Cong, 2009. "Effects Of Health And Chronic Diseases On Labour Force Participation Of Older Working‐Age Australians," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 166-182, June.
    21. Eric Delattre & Richard K. Moussa & Mareva Sabatier, 2019. "Health condition and job status interactions: econometric evidence of causality from a French longitudinal survey," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:12:y:2009:i:3:p:299-320. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sandie Rawnsley (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.