Underemployment and mental health amongst working-age Australians: a gendered analysis using the HILDA survey (2002–2022)

Underemployment is an increasingly persistent and pervasive feature of contemporary labour markets and there is some evidence to suggest that underemployment is an important social determinant of health and well-being. However, the evidence base has tended to focus on hours-based underemployment more than others like skills-based underemployment. Moreover, the gendered dimensions of underemployment remain under-researched despite evidence to suggest that women are more likely to be underemployed. Drawing on 21 annual waves (2002-22) of data from the Household, Income, Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this longitudinal study employed Mundlak modelling to examine the association between two forms of subjective underemployment and mental health in working-age (25-64 years) Australians (n = 18,285). Underemployment was operationalized in two ways: (1) hours-related underemployment; and (2) skills-based underemployment. Mental health was assessed using the MHI-5 scale. All models were stratified by gender. Results suggest that hours-related underemployment has a more negative effect on women's mental health while skills-related underemployment has a more negative effect on men's. Theoretically, this article highlights how subjective forms of underemployment are like unemployment, acting as a stressor for mental health because they partially deprive workers of the benefits of full employment. This study provides robust longitudinal evidence of the detrimental impact of underemployment on the mental health of working-aged Australians, highlighting how inadequate forms of work have negative health consequences. Thus, greater effort from both governments and employers is needed to implement policies and programs that help workers reach their capacity to mitigate against the negative health effects of underemployment.