Serious psychological distress affects 2.7% of American workers aged 18 to 64, according to new data brief from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. But such distress was higher among adults who usually worked the evening or night shift (4.8%) or a rotating shift (3.9%) compared with those who worked day shifts (2.3%).
Laryssa Mykyta, PhD, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, MD, examined differences in serious psychological distress in the past 30 days by work conditions, including shift work, variation in monthly earnings, perceived job insecurity, and work schedule flexibility for working adults aged 18 to 64 years in the United States. Data were extracted from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey.
“This report highlights how uncertainty in work conditions — reflected by shift work, variation in earnings, job insecurity, and inflexible work schedules — is associated with serious psychological distress among working adults aged 18–64,” Mykyta wrote.
No statistically significant difference in serious psychological distress was seen between adults whose work schedules changed on a regular basis (2.9%) and those whose work schedules did not change (2.6%), the brief noted. But serious psychological distress was higher among working adults who had difficulty altering their work schedules (4.2%) compared with those who had work schedules that were easy or somewhat easy to alter (2.2%).
Wages factored into the findings as well. As monthly variation in earnings increased, there was an increase noted in the percentage of workers experiencing serious psychological distress.
It probably comes as no surprise that workers who anticipated losing their job in the next 12 months were more likely to experience serious psychological distress (5.4%) compared with those who did not expect job loss soon (2.2%).
Paid sick leave or the lack of it also contribute to the likelihood of experiencing psychological distress. According to the brief, workers who receive paid sick leave (3.9%) were more likely to experience serious psychological distress than those without paid sick leave (2.2%).
Also, serious psychological distress was higher among workers who showed up to work within the past three months when they were physically ill (5.8%) compared with those who did not work when physically ill (1.9%).
“These results suggest the role of work conditions, not just occupation and employment status, as social determinants of health,” Mykyta wrote.
