Full-Time Employed Compared to Unemployed

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to compare the satisfaction and happiness of full-time employed to unemployed students. Following the practice at Statistics Canada, full-time paid employment is defined as employment of 30 hours or more per week (Jones, Marsden and Tepperman 1990). In the next section (3.2), I provide a summary of the composition of the full-time employed sample and compare essential aspects of it to the unemployed. In Section 3.3, I use the same simple linear model used in Volume One, Chapter 5 and Volume Two, Chapter 6.3 to explain life satisfaction and happiness on the basis of satisfaction in 12 domains and 7 demographic variables. Following that, I present an overview of the results of using MDT to explain happiness and satisfaction in all domains for full-time employed and unemployed students, males and females (3.4). Then the focus is sharpened and I review these results for each domain in comparison with the others for full-time employed and unemployed students, males and females (3.5). In the last section (3.6), the focus is sharpened again and I examine the detailed results of using MDT to explain satisfaction with one’s paid employment for all full-time employed students, males and females.