Subjective survival probabilities by employment category and job satisfaction among the fifty-plus population in Japan.

BackgroundSubjective Survival Probabilities (SSP) are known to be associated with mortality but little is known about the relationship they might have with employment categories and job satisfaction. We assess such a relationship looking at the fifty-plus population in Japan that is characterized by a stratified labour market for the older workers and high working time intensity. MethodWe use the four waves (2007-2013) of the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), a panel dataset tracking 7,082 50-plus respondents in 10 Japanese prefectures. We use a mixed-effects quantile regression model to investigate the relationship between SSP and employment status (model 1) and job satisfaction (model 2). Both models additively control for demographic and socio-economic cofounders as well as other health measurements. Multiple imputations are used to correct sample attrition. ResultsIn model 1, retirement (-0.27, 95%CI =-0.51;-0.03) and contract work (-0.51, 95%CI=-0.79;-0.23) are negatively associated with SSP in comparison with full-time employment. In model 2, low job satisfaction appears to be strongly associated with SSP (-1.37, 95%CI=-1.84;-0.91) in comparison with high job satisfaction. The same trend is observed regardless of the way job satisfaction is calculated. Both working time and employment category are not significantly associated with SSP after controlling for job satisfaction which indicates that job satisfaction is a main driver of SSP discrepancies. DiscussionSSP variations can be explained by employment category with contract work more at risk. Job dissatisfaction is a main explanation of low SSP. Both work and employment explain SSP variations.