Precarious employment and its associations with perceived stress and self-rated health: a Danish cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Precarious employment (PE), characterized by job insecurity, instability, low wages, and limited access to social protections, has been linked to adverse health outcomes. This study examines whether PE, measured using a newly validated precarious employment index (PEI), is associated with high stress and poor self-rated health (SRH) in Danish workers. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study including 3339 Danish workers aged 18-45 years. The PEI captures six dimensions of working conditions: instability, salary, power and rights, work task planning, work time planning, and workers' collective. PEI scores ranged from 0 (no PE) to 100 (most PE) and were dichotomized at the mean + 1 Standard Deviation (SD) into "no PE" and "PE"; 15% were classified as PE. Health outcomes comprised dichotomized measures of Perceived Stress and SRH. Logistic regression models were applied, adjusting for sex, age, ethnicity, highest education, cohabitation, previous mental illness, and labor market participation. RESULTS: Workers aged 18-24 years had the highest average PEI score (37.7, SD = 12.6). Participants in the PE category had significantly higher odds of reporting high stress (adjusted OR (AOR) = 4.0, 95% CI 3.2‒5.0) and poor SRH (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI 2.3‒3.8). Age-stratified analyses indicated stronger associations among workers aged 30-45 years compared to workers aged 18‒29 years. CONCLUSIONS: Workers aged 18-24 years and those with lower educational attainment had the highest PEI scores. PE was associated with higher odds of high stress and poor SRH, with the strongest associations observed among workers aged 30-45 years.