The Importance of Work-Related Events and Changes in Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction amongst Young Workers in Spain: A Gender Analysis

Abstract

A relentless stream of social, technological, and economic changes have impacted the workplace, affecting young people in particular. Such changes can be a major source of stress and can cause a threat to health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to understand the importance of work-related events and changes in the psychological distress and life satisfaction of young workers in Spain. A transversal study was carried out on a sample comprising 509 men and 396 women aged between 26 and 35 years old. The results showed that there were no differences between the men and women in the number of work-related events and changes experienced in the last 12 months, nor in terms of job satisfaction. The results from the multiple regression analysis showed that a greater number of work-related events and changes experienced during the last 12 months were associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction amongst men, but this was not the case for women. Although job satisfaction was independent from the men and women’s psychological distress when self-esteem and social support was included in the regression equation, greater job satisfaction was associated with greater life satisfaction for both men and women. It concludes that work-related events and job satisfaction are important for the health and well-being of young people, even though a larger number of work-related events and changes is associated with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction for men only.