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The Restorative Effect of Work after Unemployment: An Intraindividual Analysis of Subjective Well-being Recovery through Reemployment

Zhou, Ying; Zou, Min; Woods, Stephen A.; Wu, Chia-Huei

The Restorative Effect of Work after Unemployment: An Intraindividual Analysis of Subjective Well-being Recovery through Reemployment Thumbnail


Authors

Ying Zhou

Min Zou

Stephen A. Woods

Chia-Huei Wu



Abstract

Previous research shows that unemployment has lasting detrimental effects on individuals’ subjective well-being. However, the issue of how well-being evolves after individuals switch back into the labor force has received little theoretical and empirical attention. This study examines the extent to which reemployment restores individuals’ subjective well-being following a period of unemployment. Applying fixed effects models to the large-scale longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey, we find that recovery of subjective well-being upon reemployment is fast, complete and enduring, even when individuals take less favorable employment options to return to work. By contrast, transitions into economic inactivity following unemployment are accompanied by persistent scars on subsequent well-being trajectories. This study advances our understanding of well-being development over the entire employment–unemployment–reemployment cycle.

Citation

Zhou, Y., Zou, M., Woods, S. A., & Wu, C. (2019). The Restorative Effect of Work after Unemployment: An Intraindividual Analysis of Subjective Well-being Recovery through Reemployment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(9), 1195-1206. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000393

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 19, 2018
Online Publication Date Feb 18, 2019
Publication Date Sep 30, 2019
Deposit Date Jan 17, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jan 18, 2019
Journal Journal of Applied Psychology
Print ISSN 0021-9010
Electronic ISSN 1939-1854
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 104
Issue 9
Pages 1195-1206
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000393
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1305040

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© 2018 APA, all rights reserved. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.




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