Reemployment on a Poorer Job after a Plant Closing

Abstract

This study, involving 61 former Canadian Admiral employees who were employed 16 mo. after the plant closing, examined the effects of reemployment on a poorer job. Admiral jobs and present jobs were compared in two ways, hourly wages and a 10-item index of job characteristics (working conditions, supervision, nearness to home, union representation, etc.). Employees working on poorer jobs reported less life satisfaction, more psychosomatic symptoms, and greater alcohol consumption. Objective differences in hourly wages produced stronger negative effects than did differences in job characteristics.