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Background: The evidence linking precarious employment with poor health is mixed. Self-reported occupational exposures in a population-based Australian sample were assessed to investigate the potential for differential exposure to psychosocial and other occupational hazards to contribute to such a relationship, hypothesizing that exposures are worse under more precarious employment arrangements (EA)., Methods: Various psychoscial and other working conditions were modeled in relation to eight empirically derived EA categories with Permanent Full-Time (PFT) as the reference category (N = 925), controlling for sex, age, and occupational skill level., Results: More precarious EA were associated with higher odds of adverse exposures. Casual Full-Time workers had the worst exposure profile, showing the lowest job control, as well as the highest odds of multiple job holding, shift work, and exposure to four or more additional occupational hazards. Fixed-Term Contract workers stood out as the most likely to report job insecurity. Self-employed workers showed the highest job control, but also the highest odds of long working hours., Conclusions: Psychosocial and other working conditions were generally worse under more precarious EA, but patterns of adverse occupational exposures differ between groups of precariously employed workers., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that the risk of experiencing unwanted sexual advances at work (UWSA) is greater for precariously-employed workers in comparison to those in permanent or continuing employment., Methods: A cross-sectional population-based telephone survey was conducted in Victoria (66% response rate, N=1,101). Employment arrangements were analysed using eight differentiated categories, as well as a four-category collapsed measure to address small cell sizes. Self-report of unwanted sexual advances at work was modelled using multiple logistic regression in relation to employment arrangement, controlling for gender, age, and occupational skill level., Results: Forty-seven respondents reported UWSA in our sample (4.3%), mainly among women (37 of 47). Risk of UWSA was higher for younger respondents, but did not vary significantly by occupational skill level or education. In comparison to Permanent Full-Time, three employment arrangements were strongly associated with UWSA after adjustment for age, gender, and occupational skill level: Casual Full-Time OR = 7.2 (95% Confidence Interval 1.7-30.2); Fixed-Term Contract OR = 11.4 (95% CI 3.4-38.8); and Own-Account Self-Employed OR = 3.8 (95% CI 1.2-11.7). In analyses of females only, the magnitude of these associations was further increased., Conclusions: Respondents employed in precarious arrangements were more likely to report being exposed to UWSA, even after adjustment for age and gender., Implications: Greater protections from UWSA are likely needed for precariously employed workers.