Job insecurity and parental well-being: The role of parenthood and family factors

The consequences of job loss for subjective well-being are widely known. Yet, the subjective well-being of parents who fear that they might lose their jobs has received much less attention. We analyze how changes in job insecurity are associated with parental subjective well-being. We further provide insight into the impact of parenthood and Y[C.su childbearing demands, as well as potential accumulative dynamics. Using data from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP) (2000-2016; N = 7,167), we apply fixed-effects models to estimate deviations of well-being from the individual-specific mean. Our analytic sample comprises a total of 43,276 person years. We replicate the overall well-being response surrounding the experiences of job insecurity and unemployment, and we provide evidence for variation in subjective well-being over the parental life-cycle. The divergence in the well-being responses around raising a newborn or infant versus older children may affect fertility timing and the optimal number of children to have. The results also reveal gender-specific effects and hint at the new role of women in paid labor, but they indicate that the 'old' role of men as breadwinners has not changed dramatically.