Mediators of Differences Between Employed and Unemployed in Life Satisfaction and Emotional Well-being

Previous research has shown that the unemployed has lower life satisfaction than the employed but that their emotional well-being may not differ. The aim is to investigate the role of mediators with bearings on these differences between the employed and unemployed in emotional well-being compared to life satisfaction. Participants were 3,463 employed and 452 unemployed living in five Western countries. They answered questions in an online survey. The results showed that the employed had both higher life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Mediation analysis replicated previous results in that the relationship between unemployment and life satisfaction was mediated by financial satisfaction. The relationship with emotional well-being was mediated by satisfaction with time use which was higher for the employed than the unemployed. Financial satisfaction was also a mediator of the relationship with emotional well-being, both directly and through satisfaction with time use. Although the unemployed felt lower time pressure than the employed, this factor was not a strong mediator of the relationship with emotional well-being, neither directly nor through satisfaction with time use. A possible explanation for the differences in the results for emotional well-being is that a negative mood is less associated with work than found in previous research.