Gig economy workers nearly twice as likely to become alcoholics

By James Gamble via SWNS

Young gig economy workers are nearly twice as likely to develop alcoholism later in life, a new study shows.

Researchers found those who worked in 'precarious' employment - especially men - were more likely to develop serious alcohol-related issues in the future.

The study found those in long-term unemployment were also more prone to behavioral disorders and liver disease brought on by drinking.

The Swedish scientists behind the study suggest this could be down to gig economy workers using alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress.

Precarious employment describes non-standard or temporary work that is often poorly paid, insecure and unprotected.

The researchers say that though the prevalence of such work has increased in recent years, few studies have explored its potential consequences on mental health and vulnerability to alcohol misuse.

Their study, published in the online journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, drew on data from 339,403 participants from the Swedish Work, Illness and Labour Market Participations group.

All the participants were born between 1973 and 1976, with their data linked to several nationwide registers for 16 to 65-year-old Swedish residents in 2005.

Employment information was collected between 1992 and 2006, when the participants were aged between 19 and 30, and three years after they'd graduated from their highest level of education - be that school or university.

Employment status was categorized into five mutually exclusive groups: precarious employment; long-term unemployment of at least 180 days; substandard employment; standard employment or 'other', which included those who were self-employed, a student or not registered as being employed.

Information on subsequent ill health requiring inpatient care was obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Register and specifically included mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol, alcoholic liver disease and toxic effects of alcohol.

The majority of participants were in substandard or standard employment, with 32 percent and just over 39 percent (107,395 and 133,141) of the overall figure, respectively.

Only 42,232 (12.5 percent) were in precarious employment, and these participants tended to be male and had lower levels of educational attainment than those in standard employment.

A total of 6,713 (two percent) participants required inpatient care at least once for an alcohol-related illness during a maximum monitoring period of 28 years, and two-thirds of them (4,448) were male.

Compared with those in standard employment, those in precarious employment were nearly twice as likely to have an alcohol-related illness, whilst long-term unemployed were almost three times as likely.

After considering potentially influential factors, including previous mental health and alcohol-related health problems, those in precarious employment were found to be 43 percent more likely to have an alcohol-related illness than those in standard employment.

Similarly, the long-term unemployed were nearly twice as likely to have an alcohol-related illness, whilst those in substandard employment were 15 percent more likely.

The association between precarious employment and alcohol-related illnesses was also found to be stronger amongst men, who had a 50 percent heightened risk compared to a 32 percent heightened risk for women.

Being an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, and as their used registers have limited coverage of education outside of Sweden, many would have been excluded from the study - potentially limiting the wider applicability of the findings.

Important dimensions of precarious employment including rights and working hours are similarly not captured in employment registry data in Sweden.

However, Dr. Emelie Thern, a lead author of the study from Stockholm's Karolinska Institutet, highlighted that her team's results were similar to those from previous studies.

"A potential explanation for our findings could be that young adulthood is a particularly sensitive period in life concerning the initiation and formation of health-related behaviors, such as alcohol use," Dr. Thern said.

“Subsequently, young adults in precarious employment might use alcohol as a coping strategy for stress and form a habit of consuming larger quantities of alcohol compared with individuals in [standard employment] of the same age.”

Referring to the even higher risk of alcohol-related illness among those who were unemployed as young adults, Dr. Thern added: “To escape unemployment, several young people take the first job offered, which is generally more precarious with less security, lower wages and longer hours.

“The results of the current study suggest that this decision appears to be marginally more beneficial compared with remaining unemployed, which adds to the discussion of whether any job is really better than no job at all."