A Little Hard Work Never Hurt Anybody: A Cross-Country Comparison of Mental Health Across Job Structure

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between work structures and mental health outcomes across Canada and the United States. Specifically, we determine the marginal impact of part-time employment, unemployment, and self-employment on mental health outcomes for each country and across gender. We carry out fixed effects regressions using cross-sectional time series survey data from 2008-2014 in Canada and the US. While Americans experience higher levels of distress and worse levels of mental health across all job structures measured, Americans actually experience lower levels of diagnosed mental illness, suggesting a disconnect between symptom prevalence and levels of treatment. The negative impact of atypical job arrangements on mental health outcomes is shown to be exacerbated amongst women, specifically in the US. This approach differs from the existing literature as it provides a direct comparison between Canada and the US, two countries that share a border, similar democratic political structures, and similar quality of life. The results are relevant to the current discussion of American Healthcare, parental care and child leave policy differences across OECD countries, the rise of atypical job structures, and cultural barriers preventing access to mental health treatment.