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Unfair Pay and Health: The Effects of Perceived Injustice of Earnings on Physical Health
[journal article]
Abstract While there is ample evidence that income inequalities influence individuals’ health status, the mechanisms behind this income inequality–health correlation are only partially understood. This study shows that inequalities evaluated on the basis of individual perceptions of injustice are a driving f... view more
While there is ample evidence that income inequalities influence individuals’ health status, the mechanisms behind this income inequality–health correlation are only partially understood. This study shows that inequalities evaluated on the basis of individual perceptions of injustice are a driving force behind this connection. Two main questions are addressed: Does perceiving one’s earnings as unfair affect physical health? Do such perceptions contribute to structural health inequalities? The hypotheses presented are based on the effort–reward imbalance model, according to which experiencing injustice causes stress, which can have a negative effect on individual health. Analyses of large-scale longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel of the years 2005–2010 show that female employees who perceive their earnings as unjustly low display significantly worse physical health, and that if employees perceive their earnings to be unjust for an extended period, this contributes to the deterioration of individual physical health in male and female employees. Employees from lower social classes, in particular unskilled blue-collar workers, more frequently perceive their earnings to be unjust. Experience of unjust earnings mediates the relationship between social class and physical health, if to a limited extent. Our conclusion is that differential exposure to unjust earnings contributes to the emergence of structural health inequalities.... view less
Keywords
wage; health status; difference in income; perception; psychophysical stress; longitudinal study; distributive justice; employee; lower class; precariat; social inequality; SOEP; social stratification; social status; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
Page/Pages
p. 655-666
Journal
European Sociological Review, 31 (2015) 6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcv065
ISSN
1468-2672
Status
Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications